A Little Fall of Rain
by Tenshi no Toki
Summary: When the angel Ryou becomes smitten with a mortal he believes can do no harm, he creates a misunderstanding resulting in the wrath of the young demon Malik, whose heart still bears the scars of an unrequited love. [YMxM, BxR, SxM, SxJ]
1. At the End of the Day

**A Little Fall of Rain**

**Summary**: When the angel Ryou becomes smitten with a mortal who he believes can do no harm, he creates a misunderstanding, resulting in the wrath of the young demon Malik whose unrequited love was never satisfied in life. YAOI

**Rated**: T

**Genre**: Supernatural/Romance

**Author's Note:** And here it is! The revised, rewritten, and totally rearranged story that was _Target Sighted_. I realized that my sophomore year of high school was a battle of emotions for me, which in turn reflected in my writing. But, I'm more focused now, and I will do my best to actually FINISH this story. I have it all outlined, so I think it's highly possible. Oh, and if anyone wants a brief summary of how Target Sighted would have ended, just say so when you review. …Because you WILL review.

**Disclaimer**: Not mine. Maybe someday.

**At the End of the Day**

A silver arrow shot threw the air and pierced through a nearby hell hound's shoulder, effectively destroying the rabid animal. The angel smiled with a grim satisfaction, failing to notice the large axe that was hurdling towards his head. With a muted thud, the cherub down for the count.

"That's for killing Fluffy," Jounouchi growled, heaving his weapon back onto his shoulder, unintentionally eliminating an angel that was sneaking up behind him.

"I'm impressed that your incompetence has managed to knock out more angels than both Malik and I combined."

"Cut the crap Kaiba," Jounouchi grinned, "and just be happy that that asshole Yami hasn't found out what we're doing."

"That 'asshole Yami' knows more than you think," a disgruntled voice said from behind, belonging to (of course) the famed Yami himself. "Why you demons find it necessary to harass angels for sport is beyond me, but remember that while your kind can only stun us…"

Jounouchi paled at the sight of the angel's ethereal bow, "W-Wait a sec!"

"…we _angels_ can kill you."

Yami fired a series of silver arrows, only to have Seto's massive wings block them from inflicting any damage. The brunette launched himself at the stunned angel, knocking the weapon out of his hands. "If you ever try anything like that again Yami-"

"I had every right to! How'd you even get up here? Go back to where you belong!"

"Yeah right," Seto sneered, "just because you were killed in honor you get to sit amongst the clouds? How is it that a man who never did anything except preach about goodness can make it up here, and a guy like me, a guy who actually DID something, ends up a damned soul?"

"I don't decide how the system works Kaiba," Yami hissed, "you'll have to take your complaints up to the big guy."

Jounouchi noticed the angel's hand reaching for the nearby bow, and subsequently slammed his axe onto the offending limb. Yami screamed in agony, his gaze drifting over to the severed hand that used to be attached to his now useless arm. It took most of Yami's power to reattach the hand; however, he still couldn't move it.

"Damn you," the angel gasped, seeing no blood, but feeling every ounce of pain.

"You already did that Yami. Right now…my only purpose is to make sure every single demon, angel, and human knows what you-"

"Seto!"

The demon looked up, keeping a firm grasp on Yami's throat. His eyes grew softer at the sight of the newest addition to damned souls. A young demon of two years (seventeen physically) bolted through the skies of heaven, proudly carrying what looked to be a mirror.

"Malik! You got it!" Jounouchi said excitedly, taking the fragile item.

"There were only a couple of angels guarding it, so it wasn't _too_ difficult. I even had enough time to make sure the decoy worked properly! This is what they wanted, right Seto? The All-Seeing Mirror?"

"What? Put that back right now!" Yami barked, "So this was only a distraction!"

"You're kind of dense, huh?" Malik giggled, "Either that or you think us demons are really stupid. We wouldn't cause trouble up here if we didn't want to take something from you!"

"You just got owned by a newbie," Jounouchi cackled.

"What have I told you about using words that only make you look stupider?" Seto smirked, getting up.

"Always gotta have the last word, don't you jackass?"

"Stop arguing," Malik snapped, "we need to leave before any of the other angels wake up!"

"Don't think you're getting away with this! Once I tell the head council you three are dead!"

"Like anyone's going to believe you," Seto sneered, "I already cast a memory spell over this area, and every single angel (except for you unfortunately) has been put out of commission. That decoy Malik placed works just as well as the original, except…"

"The mirror bends the truth," Malik said simply, "it only shows the good, not the bad. Pegasus created it as a sort of pick me up for us demons."

"As if rotting in hell wasn't pleasant enough," Jounouchi said sarcastically.

"It was nice chatting with you!"

"Later Yami!"

"Have fun explaining this to the other angels!"

And in a flash of black feathers, they were gone.

Yami hastily got to his feet and attempted to wake the nearest angel next to him, but to no avail. He couldn't fly, too weak; he couldn't tell the council, no proof; he couldn't even move his stupid hand. Letting out a rough cry in frustration, Yami hobbled over to another angel and shook him roughly.

"Ryou! Wake up!"

Brown eyes flickered into consciousness and the white haired angel sat up, rubbing his head. "Ow…it feels like I was hit by a ton of bricks…"

"Actually, it was an axe," Yami muttered, "three demons came up here and stole the All-Seeing Mirror!"

Ryou blinked and looked over to the Mirror's temple, seeing a regal hand mirror lying innocently on a silk pillow. The angel then cast an angry glare towards Yami.

"It's not nice to LIE Yami. The mirror's right there."

"That's a fake!" Yami stressed, "They put it there so we wouldn't notice it was missing! Ryou, please! I'm not lying! Why else would everyone be knocked out?"

"There was ambrosia at the party last night in the main temple. You know that stuff makes all of us a bit tipsy."

"AT THE SAME TIME?"

"Don't question the workings of the godly nectar," Ryou snapped.

"Ryou, you must listen to me! Come with me to the head council so we can get permission to go to Hell and retrieve the mirror! I know, I know," Yami barked, sensing Ryou's objection, "it's still on the pedestal. But that's a fake! One of the demons told me themselves! It's-It's…"

Ryou stood up and fluttered impatiently over to the chamber, picking up the mirror and gazing lovingly into it's reflective surface.

"Domino City, Japan." He announced, the glass flickering to life almost instantly. A faded image of the city appeared in the mirror's depths; "Touzoku Bakura," the angel commanded, choosing his favorite 'show.' The image blurred and cleared, revealing an older teen that looked very much like himself, except his features were noticeably harsher.

"See Yami? It works just fine. I can see Bakura in class. Can we stop making up stories now?"

"It's a lie! Bakura's never in class! The mirror bends the truth! You and I both know that that jerk's never in class!"

"Not true! Remember that day he gave that Yuugi boy a wedgie? He was in class then!"

"I said you weren't allowed to talk about that," Yami grumbled.

* * *

"Here you are boys," Malik said seductively, revealing the heavenly mirror from beneath a moth infested cloth, "the All-Seeing Mirror. Beautiful, isn't it?"

The other souls at the bar roared with amazement, laughing gregariously at the seemingly impossible feat. One of the demons took the mirror and inspected it carefully, as if trying to find a fault. He put it down disappointedly and dug around in his pockets for cash.

"That's right Varon, pay up, you lost the bet."

"Yeah, yeah, alright already," the brunette snapped, slamming a pile of gold coins onto the wooden table, "Damn…I was sure the angels would've killed at least one of you…"

"You underestimate us," Jounouchi said haughtily, pocketing the coins, "we've got four hundred and eighty years of experience between me an' Kaiba! Four hundred eighty-two including the kid over there."

Malik scowled, hurt that he was being referred to as a kid. "Jounouchi those aren't all yours! I was the one who got the mirror in the first place!"

"Yeah, but me and Kaiba were the ones keeping those angels off your ass!"

The smaller demon blushed, "Rrgh! If it wasn't for my connections with the blacksmith we'd never had gotten a replacement for the mirror!"

"But I was the one who paid for the decoy!"

"Be quiet both of you," Seto snapped, cleaning two glass mugs roughly, almost breaking them, "Jounouchi give my half of the gold to Malik. I won't miss it."

Jounouchi reluctantly gave the other blonde fourteen gold pieces, keeping sixteen for himself. "Suck up."

"Bet you wish you were in my shoes, huh Jou-san?" Malik winked, biting one of the coins. "I know you'd love Seto to stick up for you once in awhile."

"What? Getting special attention from that asshole just 'cause I'm cute? Fat chance." Jounouchi scoffed, turning a light shade of pink.

"There's only one problem with that statement. You're not cute."

Malik flitted away, giggling insanely as the heavier demon attempted to body slam him. Jounouchi folded his dark wings and charged for the small blonde, grabbing the mirror from the table. "Alright hot stuff, let's see who _you've_ got the hots for!"

"Ha! Don't make me laugh. I don't like anyone or _anything_ in this hell hole."

"We'll just see about that! Mirror, show all of us who Malik loves!"

A roar of agreement arose from the bar patrons, banging their glasses eagerly. Seto looked up from the dishes, noticing the panicked look on his charge's face.

"You're wasting your time," Malik growled, "I told you there's-!"

The reflective surface flickered to life, showing a clear picture of a student in his late teens. He sat, writing on a piece of stationary paper with little cats around the edges, stopping every few seconds to erase furiously before writing again. After a few seconds, the bit the eraser of the ragged pencil, running his other hand through spiky blonde hair. The mirror flashed and seemed to zoom in on the piece of paper, revealing the words:

_Hey Malik! You haven't written in awhile, I was starting to get worried about you. Aww…that sounded really girly, right? Whatever. I hope you haven't forgotten about me! To be honest, I kind of miss when you wrote to me every week, like you promised you would when you moved away…But I can understand if you're busy…_

Jounouchi stared at the image confusedly, and then cast a puzzled glance back at Malik, who's lilac eyes stayed glued to the scene in the mirror. Suddenly, the small blonde grabbed the mirror from Jounouchi's lax grasp and held to close to his chest.

"Malik, was that a-"

"It's none of your business," Malik snarled, hugging the mirror.

"The kid's in love with a human?" A nearby demon asked, trying to sneak a peek at the concealed mirror.

"What an idiot!"

"What a dumbass!"

"What a-"

"That's enough. Everyone get out!" Seto commanded, brandishing a dirty wash towel. "All drinks are on the house. Just leave before I kill all of you."

The few demons that were left in the bar left sluggishly, each of them chancing glance at Malik, who continued to embrace the mirror like his life depended on it.

"Do you know what the hell's going on Amelda?"

"Sure do Varon. That human doesn't know the kid died. He's writing a letter to no one!"

As the door swung closed, Seto shot the still confused Jounouchi with a hateful glance. "Bastard. What the hell were you trying to accomplish by that?"

"I…I didn't know!"

"Then you shouldn't have done it in the first place idiot!" Seto hissed, grabbing the smaller demon by the shirt collar, "The boy's only been dead a few years! There are bound to be some people who were unaware of his passing.!"

"I-I forgot that he-!"

Malik placed the mirror facedown on the table, grabbing a lonely pitcher of alcohol. In one swift motion, Malik put the spout to his lips and began drinking the amber liquid down, not pausing once. Wide eyed, Seto forced the blonde's hand down, revealing a tear stained and arguably tipsy demon.

"You're a (hic) dumbass Jounouchi!" Malik cried, launching the empty container at the older blonde, "You stupid (hic) idiot! No one ever (hic) told Marik that I died in that (hic) fire! He's probably still sending me (hic) letters. What an (hic) idiot…what a (hic) hopeless fool…"

He stumbled a bit and leaned against the beaten wall for support, "Never got to (hic) say my goodbyes. Probably (hic) thinks I forgot about him…But that's not true… What d'you think he'll (hic) say when he (hic) finds out innocent little Malik (hic) Ishtal ended up down here?"

Malik eyes fluttered shut and the boy fell forward, into the arms of Seto Kaiba. The blue-eyed demon held the unconscious Malik in one arm while pelting Jounouchi over the head with a closed fist. "All that beer's getting added to your rent Jounouchi," Seto growled, "and if you don't pay I'm giving Malik your room."

Jounouchi rubbed at his bruised head tenderly, glaring daggers at the young demon, "Ain't you going to miss having that little barmaid sleeping in your room? God knows what you do to the kid when he's sleeping…"

Seto snarled and smacked the blonde demon hard against the wall, leaving it splintered. "He was given to _us_ to care for! You're his guardian, _act like it_."

* * *

A pile of crumpled paper lay in the corner of Marik Ishtar's dorm room, forming a sort of mountain of failure. The nineteen year old student let out a groan of frustration and banged his head against the wooden desk, creating a painful looking dent on the surface.

"Augh! Why the heck am I making such a big deal about this? It's not like that little brat ever writes back. Maybe he really has forgotten about me."

The face of a young Malik seemed to appear from Marik's overstuffed memory banks; Light blonde hair framing a lightly tanned face and lilac eyes that were so full of life…

"Yeah right," Marik said more confidently, pulling up another piece of stationary, "I've known him thirteen years; no way he'd forget _me_."

_Dear Malik_…

"ISHTAR!"

The blonde ducked fast enough to evade a heavy book sack aimed for his head. Opening a dark eye tentatively, Marik saw a very annoyed Bakura at the room's entrance, complete with throbbing vein.

"Pig. You know what happens when you leave garbage lying around? COCKROACHES! You want COCKROACHES to live with us?"

"Such a drama queen," Marik scowled, turning back to his letter, "it's just lead on paper."

"Huh? Ha! Writing another letter to that hot friend of yours who moved to America two years ago?"

Marik twitched, "Excuse me?"

"I've seen pictures of that kid in your stuff! He was cute! Bet he was wild in bed though, right?"

"Bastard! Who said you could look through my things! And for your information, we were _just friends_."

"Sure," Bakura smirked, rolling mahogany eyes, "just _friends_. Heck, I'll have him if you don't want him. I could use some love."

"Too bad you won't be getting any in this dorm," the blonde grinned, finishing the letter with an ornate signature, "not with all the STDs running amok."

The white haired teen flinched, looking fervently around the relatively spotless room, "God, you're right. And we're all out of disinfectant and hand sanitizer! Ack! Marik, I'm going to the mini mart to get some-"

"Don't you know how dirty those corner shops are?" Marik continued to tease, enjoying his roommate's discomfort, "you could catch a virus from the counter! Or worse, bring home a family of flies."

Bakura paled and ran to the bathroom, beginning to wash his hands feverishly.

"Clean freak," Marik muttered, sealing a light pink envelope shut with a heart shaped sticker.

* * *

**TBC**

Review! **Five reviews** _minimum_ to get the next chapter!


	2. I Dreamed a Dream

**A Little Fall of Rain**

**Summary**: When the angel Ryou becomes smitten with a mortal who he believes can do no harm, he creates a misunderstanding, resulting in the wrath of the young demon Malik whose unrequited love was never satisfied in life.

**Rated**: T

**Genre**: Supernatural/Romance

**Author's Note:** Eek! I got a lot of reviews last chapter! So happy! I'm glad all of you think that this is good enough to make up for Target Sighted. If anyone wants the ending to that story (outline) PM me with your e-mail and I'll send it (or leave it in your review…because you _WILL_ review.)

**Disclaimer**: Nope, still not mine.

**I Dreamed a Dream**

"So you're really moving away this time, huh?"

Malik blushed and shifted his grip on the leather suitcase handle. "What do you mean _this time_?"

"Well you've been saying you and your big sis were going to move to America ever since freshman year. So, is it true this time?" Marik smirked, hiding the sadness welling inside of him.

"Ack! Well if you're so intent on me leaving then yeah! Yeah, I'm really moving away this time! Happy now?" The smaller blonde blushed further, his body shaking with indignant fury. "I'm moving away and never coming back!"

"Cool off Malik," Marik laughed, swinging an arm around the younger boy, "I was just kidding. Never could take a joke could you?"

"I-!"

"And don't spew that bull about never coming back either," Marik said more seriously, "because you _are_ coming back. Got it?"

Malik blinked, his face still tinged with pink, "I don't think that's my choice to make Marik. But…I mean if you want, I can write you. Every week I'm away. You know, just so you don't start missing me or something."

The taller blonde coughed and removed his hand from Malik's shoulder, "Don't be stupid. I'm not gonna miss a puny little thing like you. But…I'd like that. The letters I mean."

Malik smiled, "Hee, just write back okay?"

"Only if you will."

"Right!" Malik said, nodding, "it's a deal."

The moving truck honked twice, as Isis waved an impatient hand from the driver's window of a nearby car. Malik looked behind him and began to run toward the vehicle, when a strong hand stopped him, pulling him into a tight hug. Closing his eyes, Marik whispered softly into Malik's pierced ear.

"This isn't goodbye, understand? Promise me that."

"Marik I-!"

Isis honked again, signaling that they were already late.

"Promise me!"

Malik fled from Marik's lax grip and ran toward the truck, which was already beginning to move, "I promise Marik!"

* * *

A nineteen-year old Marik Ishtar woke up in a cold sweat, panting heavily with fresh tears running down his face. Wiping at his eyes furiously, the blonde went to the bathroom, wanting to run some fresh water over his head.

"Ishtar? What the hell?"

Marik paused and turned to see a bleary eyed Bakura raising a head of tangled white hair from the top bunk. "Did you get bitten by bed bugs? …Because if you did I think I might have some ointment for that in my bag."

"I don't need any of your stupid ointments!" Marik hissed, flipping on the lights in an attempt to blind his roommate. "I need a cold shower. A freezing, ice cold shower."

"It's supposed to rain sometime this week," Bakura mumbled, burying his head into light brown pillows, "you might get pneumonia…or frostbite…or…"

Marik blinked. Bakura had fell back to sleep again. "Stupid bastard. Who the hell told him to major in medicine? I wanna give their ass a good hard kick."

* * *

"See? I told you the head council wouldn't believe you," Ryou said smartly, sticking his tongue out, "There were no traces of black magic, there were no black feathers, and there was nothing to suggest that demons even broke through the gates. You were lying and you've been caught. Now apologize!"

"I'm not going to apologize because I'm not lying Ryou! I saw them here with my own eyes! Three demons, _three_; two blondes and Seto Kaiba."

The smaller angel smirked, "Oh ho! Seto Kaiba. So that's what this is all about. Still angry about what he said during his deathbed? Don't let his taunts get to your head Yami. You deserve to be up here as much as any of us. You sacrificed your life to save his little brother and he still hasn't thanked you? No wonder he ended up down there!"

"This isn't about Seto! This is about the angels getting duped by a fake mirror!"

"Why do you find it so hard to believe that humans are actually being nice and not causing trouble," Ryou sighed, picking up the fake mirror, "I know Bakura's been a bit of a boor, but it looks like he's changed now… For the better."

Yami rolled his eyes, "And I thought I was crazy. That boy has been nothing but trouble his whole life. Why are you so accepting of this sudden change?"

The Bakura in the mirror was now helping Marik with homework; the two of them were smiling and laughing lightly, clearly having a good time.

"Because it gives me a reason to show myself to him." Ryou said finally. "Angels can't show themselves to bad people, but Bakura's completely turned around! Maybe I can appear to him as a sign, or maybe a vision, or-"

Yami smirked, "I know puppy dog love when I see it. You want this pseudo Bakura to be real, just so you'd have an excuse for a rendezvous on Earth, right?"

"So what if that's true?" Ryou said indignantly, "I'm sure you'd do the same with Yuugi. …If you weren't too chicken that is."

"Wh-What? I'm not chicken! I can go down there and talk to him whenever I want! I may not have a reason to but…"

"But nothing, the point is that me wanting to spend some time with Bakura isn't totally out of the question. The problem is having a reason to do so. It's rather annoying when you're forced to observe from afar. I feel like some sort of stalker."

"What would you tell him?" Yami asked, sincerely interested, peering into the mirror again.

"I'd tell him…I'd tell him…Heck, I don't even know what I'd ask him. Something profound and life altering I'd hope."

"You're pathetic Ryou," Yami sighed, turning over the mirror, "go ahead and fall in love with a broken reflection. You'll just end up stabbing yourself in the foot eventually. Maybe then you'll learn."

The taller angel sulked away, white wings dragging with each step he took. Ryou sniffed and looked into the mirror again, finding Bakura working diligently on his term paper for Anatomy class. He was so hard working…

"So what if it's really just a distorted reflection," Ryou asked himself, drawing a pale finger over the mirror's surface, "I know Bakura is a good person. I just know it. I only wish I could encourage him to do the right things, make the right choices. I don't want him to throw his life away like I did… I have to warn him."

The angel slumped down, pale blue robes gathering at his feet. "My only problem is how…"

* * *

Bakura was, as a matter of fact, doing his anatomy homework. However, it wasn't as wholesome as the angel believed it to be.

"Marik, you're taking a few art classes right?"

Dark eyes peeked over the cover of a book entitled _The Brain and You_. "I'm taking Psychology Bakura. Not Art."

"Yeah, but you know how to draw right?" Bakura asked, erasing something from a sheet of computer paper.

"A bit," the blonde mumbled, turning the page, "Malik was more of an artist, but I could've picked something up from him. Why do you ask?"

"I need to draw a penis for Anatomy. Want to help me?"

Marik slammed the four hundred page book down and glared at Bakura with cold plum eyes, "Bakura. Go to the bathroom. Take your drawing pad. Unzip your pants. _Sketch_."

"Oh it's easy for you to say, you're only taking _psychology_," the white haired student muttered, rolling his eyes, "All you need to do is tell people they're crazy and you get paid. I on the other hand have to cut, slice, and poke my way through their insides to figure out the problem."

"Then it's a perfect job for you," Marik sneered, beginning to read again.

"But I suppose there's some substantial skill involved in Psychology," Bakura continued, talking more to himself than Marik, "I mean you need to learn how to talk to people…and maybe even desensitize yourself to their problems. They always tell us not to get too involved in your patients lives, but I don't see how that's possible-"

"Malaria. Hepatitis. Mono."

Bakura cringed and ran to the bathroom again, running his hands under scalding water. "Oh God, who knew taking psychology would give you powers of manipulation?"

Marik smirked and went back to reading his book, his good deed done for the day.

* * *

Jounouchi held the silver spoon threateningly over Malik's head, amber eyes blazing passionately, "Come on Malik, open up!"

The small demon shook his head, covering his mouth with both hands. Jounouchi sighed and lowered the offending utensil, "Malik, it's only medicine. It's not going to kill you, you're already dead remember?"

Lilac eyes narrowed and the demon attempted to kick the spoon away, only to have his leg caught by the much stronger Jounouchi.

"Alright kid, I'm done playing. Just take it, the taste will only stay in your mouth for a little while. Open up…"

The bar patrons looked in shock as a loud scream rattled the very foundation of the old building. Glasses rattled, stools shook, and several plates fell from the cabinets, shattering on the floor. Seto sighed, gathered the pieces of the broken ceramic, and dumped them into the sink. Wiping his hands slowly, the blue-eyed demon sauntered upstairs into the bedrooms, where he had told Malik to stay for the day. It seemed the little binge drinking stunt had given Malik a painful stomach ache, which wasn't too surprising considering the young blonde had never drank alcohol before, alive or dead.

Seto opened the door to his bedroom (which he had been sharing with Malik) to find the young demon being held upside down by a furious Jounouchi. The smaller blonde seemed to be oddly satisfied with something.

"You little _brat_! If you ever bite me again I'm going to wipe that smirk off your face, tear off one of your wings and shove it down your throat!"

"Is that a threat or a promise?" Malik asked, amused, bobbing up and down.

"Don't give me that crap! We were appointed as your guardians, so you have to listen to us! Now open wide and take the damn medicine!"

"I was given to Seto, not to _you_," the smaller blonde hissed, wriggling out of Jounouchi's grip and plopping back onto the bed, "so as far as I'm concerned, I only have to listen to him!"

"Malik, please take the medicine," Seto said calmly, "it'll make your stomach stop hurting."

The young demon pouted and finally accepted the purple liquid, the disgusting taste of bitter chemical assaulting his tongue. Malik swallowed it quickly and shuddered back into the dark blue covers of Seto's bed, covering himself with a few dozen pillows. Why the eldest demon even had so many pillows was unknown.

"And you," Seto shot, glaring at Jounouchi, "what did I tell you about hurting him like that?"

"He bit me!" Jounouchi argued, showing Seto good-sized bite wound, "And he won't listen to a word I say!"

"Because you're mean and stupid," Malik said from under the covers.

"See! I can't do this Seto, not anymore! It's been two years and nothing's changed!"

"Maybe if you tried not yelling, he'd listen," Seto muttered, sitting on his bed, attempting to find Malik, "and stop calling him kid. He hates that." He was able to locate Malik's left wing, and eventually Malik in his entirety. The medicine had made the small demon incredibly sleepy, and he was struggling to keep his eyes open.

Seto smiled. "And maybe being a little nicer would help also. You know, just a suggestion."

Jounouchi scowled, angry that Malik had gotten between what used to be a flawless relationship between him and Seto. "Okay, fine. Malik? Would you like me to buy you a unicorn named Charlie? You could ride him all the way to Candy Mountain and-"

"Go fuck yourself!" Malik snapped, throwing a pillow at the taller blonde.

Seto growled in frustration, "Being sarcastic won't help any."

"Fine then, I'll be honest! Malik, you're a lousy freeloader and a whiny little prick! You use your looks to get what you want, you're annoying, you're manipulative, and you can't seem to get the concept that being dead means letting go of the attachments you had before! So stop making yourself sick, and stop daydreaming about that human! You're not going to see him again, and he'll eventually find out about the fire! So stop acting like such a kid and grow up!"

"But I promised him I wouldn't say goodbye!" Malik cried. "I promised him that I'd come back! Now he's all alone waiting for me, sending letters I'll never get to read!" The demon looked up, cat-like eyes brimming with tears, "It's easy for you to tell me to grow up! But knowing Marik's up there waiting for me in vain is painful to accept! Even a heartless bastard like you can understand that!"

A vein in Jounouchi's forehead throbbed dangerously, very close to bursting, "I've had it with your sentimental crap! Both of you! Seto, I'm taking a _vacation_, if you get my drift. Malik, call me when you stop acting like such a pussy, okay? Later."

The blonde stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him. Malik blushed and looked down; embarrassed that half of what Jounouchi had said was true. "Since we're all being so honest, why don't _you_ blow off some steam Seto?"

"Jounouchi will come back, don't worry about it. That's the fifth time he's 'quit' in this decade. And he was being a little harsh with you. I don't find you annoying at all," Seto smiled, ruffling the smaller demon's long blonde hair. Doing so seemed to make the blonde even more miserable, seeing as he sunk back into the plush bedding. Marik had always done that as a way of saying hello.

"What's wrong now?"

"It's nothing. Um…even though Jounouchi left…can I still sleep with you?"

"If you want," Seto smirked, "but no more complaining about my snoring, okay?"

"…Okay."

The brunette got up slowly and returned to the bustling bar below, prepared to face a long line of bitterly sober customers. Before he left, he turned to see Malik gazing into the mirror, assumedly observing the human he had left behind. Sighing heavily, Seto made his way down the steps, his mind made up about what he needed to do. Sure it was drastic, but seeing his charge so depressed wasn't sitting well with him. Besides, it's not like Jounouchi deserved it anymore…

* * *

**TBC**

Chapter done! Once again, **five reviews** for the next chapter. I know it's demanding, but I hate it when people read my stories and don't review. It makes me feel unappreciated. Aren't Malik and Seto totally adorable together? Aww.


	3. Come to Me

**A Little Fall of Rain**

**Summary**: When the angel Ryou becomes smitten with a mortal who he believes can do no harm, he creates a misunderstanding, resulting in the wrath of the young demon Malik whose unrequited love was never satisfied in life.

**Rated**: T

**Genre**: Supernatural/Romance

**Author's Note:** So here's the next chapter! This is where all the super important stuff happens, so play close attention! Sadly Ryou didn't make it into my final draft, but Bakura's given a more prominent role…other than being a clean freak that is. More Malik and Seto fluff, and more Marik sadness! …Aww. Keep the **REVIEWS** coming, I love them! And to all of you who don't review...you make me sad.

**Disclaimer**: Characters belong to Kazuki Takahashi.

**Come to Me**

Bakura's classes were finished for the day, earlier than expected. This was mostly due to the fact that his Anatomy professor was currently suffering from a case of the flu. The white haired teen had made a point to sit very far away from the sick old man, cringing every time he would produce a wad of sticky phlegm. Luckily, he had the weekend to get better…for Bakura's sake. The other students often questioned Bakura's chances of succeeding in the medical field, considering how hard he tried to avoid coming into contact with germs of any sort. The truth was Bakura's fear of catching the diseases he had learned about increased as the courses grew more and more intense. He knew that Marik had noticed. As Bakura became more unraveled, the blonde had gotten more observant. Though Marik rarely used Bakura's paranoia to his advantage outside the dorm room, Bakura had made a point to learn as much about Marik as possible, just in case blackmail became necessary.

After tossing his empty book bag onto the top bunk, Bakura carefully searched for Marik's suitcase. He found it under a pile of highlighted textbooks, its golden lock glinting ominously. Taking a hairpin from his pocket, Bakura quickly tricked the lock and opened the suitcase, his fingers tingling with excitement. He set aside Marik's clothes, finding several small bags underneath. Checking the clock, the med student began to search for anything out of the ordinary, finding several eyeliner pencils, a vial of clear nail polish, and even a few lipstick tubes. Proud of his discovery, Bakura placed the makeup back where he had found it and continued searching the bags.

The next two bags weren't too special, just some toothpaste, floss, a small bottle of mouthwash, and a round mirror. Mentally noting that Marik was significantly more concerned about hygiene than he led on, Bakura opened the final bag. Inside were pages and pages of photo booth stickers, all featuring Marik and the noticeably more feminine Malik. Bakura thumbed through the waxy images, thrilled to discover Marik had, at one time, highlighted his pale blonde hair a light purple, Malik a pale pink. He also made a point to note the two blondes seemed rather close to be just '_friends_.'

After memorizing every detail on the stickers, the white haired teen moved on to a relatively large stack of traditional photographs. Again, the photos were primarily of Marik and Malik, a few others were taken of what looked like a small yellow chick plush. Bakura noticed that While Marik's spikes slowly lost their lavender sheen as the dates became more recent, Malik's pink highlights remained strong, leading him to believe they were natural. It wasn't unheard of, Bakura knew a short student by the name of Yuugi that had an odd hair color as well. But Malik's locks seemed to gradually change from a pale blonde into a light pink.

"Must be something in the water," Bakura muttered, pocketing one of the photos.

A loud rattle brought Bakura's attention back to the present. Hastily, he zipped the bags as quietly as he could, shutting the suitcase and burying it under a pile of books. Climbing up the short ladder, Bakura quickly opened a book on the human heart, and adopted a more relaxed position.

The door opened slowly, revealing a water logged and irate Marik, blonde hair dripping profusely with freshly fallen rain.

"You got back early," he said, looking up at the smirking Bakura, "Did something happen?"

"Old man Takeshi caught the flu," Bakura said casually, pretending to read, "He couldn't finish the lecture without hacking up his insides. …So we all just left."

"Lucky you. Yuka-san wouldn't let us leave until we…huh?"

Dark eyes drifted to a lone photograph lying on the floor, featuring two familiar blondes posing playfully. Marik scowled and shot a death glare at Bakura, who was currently praying that someone would find his mangled body and somehow try to sew it back together. No shame in wanting to leave a beautiful corpse behind. The white haired teen braced himself for impact.

But when none came, mahogany eyes opened cautiously, searching for the muscular blonde. Peeking over the side of the bunk bed, Bakura was stunned to find Marik simply looking at the photograph, a faint smile on his face. Trying his hardest to keep his mouth from falling open, Bakura carefully edged toward the blonde, afraid that he was falling for some sort of dastardly trick.

"Bakura…what if he forgot?"

"Wh-What?"

"It's been two years since I've heard from him! I even sent him my extra key to the dorm, and he hasn't responded. Hell, I'd even be happy if he sent me a Post-it! What if he forgot about me? What if he found someone else to replace me? What if…what if…?"

"You can't let the 'what ifs' get to you bud," Bakura said comfortingly, patting the blonde hard of the back. "There's no way Malik forgot about you. I mean, all those pictures? You guys had something going on there! You don't doubt him, right?"

"I don't think…"

"That's right! Don't think about it! I'm sure Malik's planning a surprise visit right now! Then you'll be happy and I'll get to meet the little kitten and- …YOU SENT HIM OUR DORM KEY?"

"Why wouldn't I? He sent _me_ his house key."

"Marik! What if the mailman sold it on the black market and some thug has it right now! Marik…he could be planning to kill us! He'll kill us and take our bodies and sell _them_ on the black market! What is _wrong_ with you? Don't you think about things like this?"

Marik whapped Bakura over the head with one of his books, "I don't think about these things because they're never going to happen. I'm not the paranoid type. I'm not the one who finds it necessary to weasel my way through my roommate's things. And if you tell anyone I used to have lilac highlights, I will _kill_ you."

"Why'd you get them anyway?" Bakura teased, poking a blonde spike, "Did _Malik_ woo you into getting them?"

"For the thousandth time, we're _just friends_. And…I got them because the guys at school were always making fun of Malik's hair. I'm sure you noticed the pink."

"So they _were_ natural."

"I suppose. Just like your ugly monkey face."

"Yeah, just like my…HEY!"

* * *

"That new barmaid of Kaiba's is pretty…" An old demon chortled, eyeing Malik's slim form.

"Yep, sure is. I wouldn't get too close though. Kaiba tore the wings off the last demon that got too close."

"Heh! Protective of the little pixie, ain't he? Boy, if I had a thing that cute with me night and day, this place wouldn't be half-bad. If his bedside manner's anywhere as good as the beer here, then I'd be in heaven!"

"Um, I can hear you," Malik scoffed, placing a hand on his hip. "You wanna keep those dirty comments to yourself? I'm kind of busy here."

The old man nudged his companion playfully and winked at the irritated blonde. Malik rolled his eyes as the two friends laughed. As he passed them by to reach the other tables, he felt a gnarled hand brush lightly against his bottom, infuriating him even more. Malik may have been proud of his appearance, but that didn't mean he was a slut. Tired of the daily harassment coming from the same two men, the young demon shrieked at the top of his lungs, gaining the attention of the entire bar.

"Ahhhhhhhhh! You pervert! If you ever touch me again, I'll tell Seto!"

Several glasses were heard shattering, and the blue-eyed demon strode to his charge, glaring ice at the two old patrons.

"What is it this time?" Seto saw Malik point angrily at the drunken demon. "Bandit Keith? I thought I banned you from here!"

Keith shrugged, "That other dumb blonde you had working here said I could come on in. He also said I could observe your little beauty here without any trouble." Again, the American winked at the young demon, who gagged.

"Jounouchi no longer works for me," Seto said stiffly, "and his claims aren't valid. Now please leave."

"We're paying customers here!" The old demon wailed, slamming his beer on the beaten table, "We just want to…_fully_ appreciate the service!"

"If I ever catch you in here again I'll-"

"What? Rip my wings off? Yeah right! That little pixie has made you a softie Kaiba. Face it! Your threats mean nothing to me."

Malik yelped as Keith's head suddenly separated from the rest of his worn body, blackened blood splattering everywhere. Frightened, the young blonde looked to Seto, who was holding what looked to be a thin sword.

"On the contrary, Keith," Seto smirked, delighted that he was scaring the solitary friend of the fallen demon, "Malik has made me even more prone to attack. And although you died older than me, I still have seniority over you in this life. Meaning I can destroy you." Tossing the bloodied sword to a petrified Malik (who almost dropped it) Seto physically threw the remaining demon outside into the cobblestone streets of Hell's 4th Avenue.

"Stay out unless you want to share the same fate as that dumbass over there!"

Nodding fearfully, the lone demon flew off, leaving a trail of black feathers. Seto sighed and reentered the building, noticing that the entire vicinity of the bar was wide eyed and afraid. Malik however was looking at him with an air of admiration.

"You. Are so awesome!"

Flattered at the young demon's response, Seto took back his old sword and led Malik upstairs, trusting that no customer would be stupid enough to try anything after what had just happened. The blonde buzzed with excitement, proud that he was under the wing of one of the most impressive demons he had yet to see. However, he noticed that Seto seemed anxious, almost afraid of something.

"The place will be empty for the next few days," Seto mumbled, "but business will pick up once everyone gets tired of living in reality."

"That's why you started this bar, right Seto?" Malik asked, watching as the elder demon searched his bedroom closet, "You wanted to offer something that would help the souls of the damned escape this reality. You wanted to help them! I know I've only been here for a short time, but from what I've seen, you're as good as any angel!"

Seto smiled sadly at the young demon and handed him a dusty black box. "I know. I seem to give that impression to all the new arrivals. But trust me Malik, I deserved to be sent down here. My only regret is that bastard Yami managed to… Well that's a story for another time. Go on and open the box, I want you to have what's inside."

As he carefully removed the ebony cover, Malik found that what he was holding was a simple jewelry box, containing only a single necklace. Dangling from the silver chain was a black pearl which seemed to give off its own unearthly glow. Malik looked up at Seto, who had placed a strong hand on his shoulder.

"That's your ticket out of here."

"What do you mean?" the blonde asked, mesmerized by the beautiful orb.

"It's only given to demons that have spent at least two centuries in Hell's mouth, the famed Ebony Pearl. Its wearer is given the ability to return to the mortal world, and will remain as long as the pearl remains intact. I was planning on giving it to Jounouchi, but seeing as he's become a bit of an ass…"

"I can't accept this!" Malik cried, shaking his head, "I didn't mean… I never wanted to get between you and Jounouchi! I can't…if this was going to be given to someone else… I don't want…"

"Stop being so modest," the older demon snarled, "I've no need for things like that. What purpose do I have of returning to Earth? All my friends and family have passed on. But you…you have some unfinished business to attend to. Locate the one you left behind and cherish the extended time. When you feel that your business is complete, shatter the pearl. If it isn't destroyed within a year your soul will be trapped in limbo, you'll never be able to come back. Take it Malik, this is your only chance to say goodbye."

Malik looked longingly at the innocent piece of jewelry draped across his delicate fingers. This was his chance to tell Marik how he felt, how he'd always felt. …But then what? His time would expire and Marik would be left all alone. Alone. The young blonde shuddered at the mere thought of the word. He couldn't think of a fate worse than being alone for the rest of your existence. A fate Marik would be forced to endure…but it was much better than believing a lie. The lovingly written letters that would never be read, the feeling of abandonment and loss. Malik wouldn't be able to stand himself if Marik was allowed to continue his futile attempt at understanding.

"Seto…Thank you."

The blue-eyed demon nodded, watching the blonde pull the necklace over his head. Malik's form began to disappear, slowly, like wisps of smoke on a gentle breeze.

"But you're wrong."

Seto looked up, a single lilac eye remained, full of determination.

"Malik…"

"I promised him…I promised him I'd never say goodbye!"

Finally, the last traces of the young demon disappeared, and Seto Kaiba was left all alone in his room, the only noises coming from the bustling tavern underneath him. The demon sighed, running a pale hand through chestnut locks.

"There was a time when I had kept foolish promises as well."

* * *

Bakura couldn't believe his eyes when he entered the dormitory that Saturday afternoon.

He and Marik had been roaming the city, basically window shopping for this and that. The blonde had found a pair of black cargo pants that he immediately fell in love with (along with significant amount of new muscle tops). Getting bored of waiting in line, the med student decided to return to the college campus, telling his companion to pick up some food before he returned. He wasn't sure if Marik heard however, he seemed too busy trying to wrestle a pair of bracelets from a little girl.

But as soon as Bakura returned to the dorm, he was met with a strangely erotic sight. Lying on his backside, face turned toward the sun was Malik Ishtal, _the_ Malik Ishtal, the beauty that before now had only existed in Marik's photos. The younger boy was asleep, his soft breath causing his bangs to flutter periodically. His hair was longer than Bakura had imagined, reaching well past his shoulders into the small of his back, famously changing from a light blonde to a pale pink. White bandages were wrapped around Malik's arms and chest, some even around some around his fingers. Mahogany eyes traveled up and down the blonde's attractive form, thanking the heavens Marik wasn't here yet. For you see, aside from the bandages…

…Malik was completely naked.

* * *

**TBC**

And that's that! Whoo! **At least** **five reviews** before the next chapter gets posted. What's going to happen next? _ONLY I KNOW_! So you better click that pretty purple button if you want to find out!


	4. Castle on a Cloud

**A Little Fall of Rain**

**Summary**: When the angel Ryou becomes smitten with a mortal who he believes can do no harm, he creates a misunderstanding, resulting in the wrath of the young demon Malik whose unrequited love was never satisfied in life.

**Rated**: T

**Genre**: Supernatural/Romance

**Author's Note:** Sorry about the cliffhanger last chapter! Here's where things start to get interesting. But first, let's welcome the return of Ryou, Yami, and Jou shall we? Did I mention we get to see Malik shower?

**Disclaimer**: Characters belong to Kazuki Takahashi. Even Malik! …That lucky bastard.

**Castle on a Cloud**

Lilac eyes fluttered open and Malik found himself in a college dorm, white walls plastered with pictures of J-Rock bands on one end and hentai on the other. His eyes traveled from the buxom beauties over to the neatly stacked books on a small computer desk which separated into two piles: Psychology and Medicine. Everything about the room seemed to be in proper order; it almost like its inhabitant was some kind of germ obsessed medical student that flinched at the thought of bacteria…but no one was _that_ paranoid. Malik finally noticed the bandages covering the upper portion of his body, wondering why they were there, and where they came from. Then unfortunately, he remembered.

"That's right…the fire." The blonde hugged himself tightly, trying to fight the chill.

"Aw, don't look so sad! I mean, you're pretty when you're sad, but you're even prettier when you aren't."

Malik blinked and looked toward the foot of the bed, where a white haired teen with dark brown eyes was currently seated, enjoying the view. It was then Malik realized that he was, as stated in the previous chapter, naked. Bakura liked that.

However, Bakura didn't like getting an 870 page book about the spinal cord thrown at his face.

"You're sick!" Malik hissed, pulling the bed covers over his vulnerable form, "As if I wasn't harassed enough back there!"

"You mean America?" The med student asked eagerly, donning a black eye, "How was it? Is everyone there as naked and gorgeous as you?"

Another heavy book connected with Bakura's face.

"No you dumbass. They wear clothes, _like I usually do_. Um…but…the stupid airport lost my luggage, it's probably halfway to Ireland by now. And…I stripped my clothes before going to sleep; they're probably mixed in with all of yours. DON'T bother finding them, _really_. Do you uh…have any I could use?" Malik blushed a pink that nearly matched the ends of his hair.

"Sure, sure! Just stop throwing those damned books at me! Oh…and take a bath kitten. There are a lot of foreign germs on your body that I wouldn't appreciate contracting. Then I'll give you some of my clothes. Or…you can have some of Marik's old ones, but they might be too big."

"Marik? As in _Marik Ishtar_? He lives _here_?"

Bakura shot the blonde a confused look. "Yeah? That's why you're here isn't it? To see him? Suppose you used the extra key to get in here, right? You look so shocked! Didn't he ever mention ol' Bakura in the hundreds of letters he's been sending you? What an ass face, I'll be sure to get him for that."

"Uh no! Of course he's mentioned you. Not in a very nice way, but you were in a few," Malik lied walking over to the bathroom. "I hope he's not mad about me not answering. My…sister didn't approve of our relationship."

"So you considered it a relationship and he only considers it a friendship?" Bakura said incredulously, "You both are so stupid, which is to be expected considering you're both blonde."

Malik smiled sweetly and slammed the door in Bakura's face. "I'm not quite sure what the hell _IT _is, but you can tell me after I rid my body of all the _foreign germs_. Now shut up and find me something to wear!"

"Why'd I have to get stuck with people who enjoy causing me physical harm?" Bakura rubbed his nose angrily and opened his closet, "I could've gotten stuck with that wimp Yuugi, but noooo, I had to luck out and bunk with the hot psycho student…"

The blonde slowly began taking off the bandages, wincing at the ugly sight underneath. Though his arms and hands had completely healed, his back was covered in a sickly looking burn. Fortunately it could be covered by most shirts, but it would need to be hidden with more bandages until it stopped looking so…fresh. It was then Malik remembered Bakura was studying medicine; and what better way to treat a burn than with a doctor? Albeit doctor in training, but it was better than nothing.

The lithe teen stepped into the shower lightly, running the cool water over his familiar body, no wings or unsightly demon features to speak of. There was a mirror directly across from the open shower door, and the blonde took the opportunity to fully appreciate his figure. Slim, toned, tanned, sexy. Malik sighed; he was gorgeous and he knew it, no shame in hiding it. Was vanity the deadly sin that earned him the black feathers of the damned? Perhaps. But now was not the time to think about such depressing things. A squirt of gardenia shampoo was lathered graciously into a large foam, working its way through the strands of Malik's soft hair. Letting the cleanser do its work, Malik began to scrub himself with a soft washcloth, the soapy liquid traveling the length of his petit body, racing through every crevice and caressing the already silky skin. After about ten minutes of the final rinse off, Malik jumped onto the bathroom mat and toweled himself off, flinching when the cotton came into contact with his tender backside. Wrapping the towel around his waist, the blonde stepped out of the steamy bathroom to find a modest pair of bedroom shorts, checkered boxers, and a white tank top waiting for him outside. Malik took the shorts and boxers back into the bathroom and carefully slipped them on, immediately noticing they were a bit too big for his liking. Not one to complain about free things, Malik stepped outside into the main room again, grabbed the tank and revealed his back to Bakura, who had been 'studying.'

"Whoa! What the hell happened to you? …Was there flesh eating bacteria in the bath water?"

"_Actually_, I had a little accident while I was in America," Malik said truthfully, conveniently leaving out the fact that he _died_ in that _little accident_. "I wanted to get it looked at before I came over here, but I couldn't find a doctor who would see me before my flight. I was wondering if you had anything to treat it."

"Uh…yeah! Yeah, yeah, I have a first aid kit, hold on I'll go get it."

"You haven't heard from Marik yet, have you?"

"No, not yet," he returned with a small white box and a bottle of hydrogen peroxide, "but he'll be by soon, don't worry. There isn't anywhere else to go except this chummy old dorm."

Bakura dipped a large cotton ball into the peroxide and began lightly dabbing the painful looking wounds adorning Malik's back. "These burns look awful, second to third degree from what I can see. What were you doing?"

"To be honest, I can't remember!" Malik smiled, scratching his head embarrassedly, "But there _was_ a fire, and there _was_ pain involved, I can tell you that much."

"You poor little thing," the white haired teen cooed, wrapping fresh bandages around the small body, "You could've died… Hey, this is pretty!"

Bakura had caught sight of a black pearl around Malik's neck, and began fingering it lightly. "How strange, it's completely black! Who gave this to you kitten? Marik?"

Malik snatched the precious orb away and quickly pulled the white tank top over his head to hide it. "It was given to me by another friend. I'd appreciate you _never_ touching it again, thank you very much."

"Ooh, a little defensive aren't we? What's wrong, don't want Marik to know you've found another man?"

"Wha-What? No! It's just that…the person who gave it to me had to endure so much just so I could wear it and…and if it were to break I would just _die_!"

"Alright, alright, enough with the dramatics kitten, sheesh, I was just teasing. Besides, you and Marik are just _friends_, right?"

"Huh? Friends? I…Did…did he say we were _just_ friends?"

"Constantly!" The med student burst out, putting his supplies away, "I've tried to get him to say you two were a couple, but no, it's always 'We were just friends Bakura, shut up and die, Lawl!' and then wham, a book to my face. Than man is-"

"He never said anything about love? Nothing about it? Nothing at all?" Malik bit his lip worriedly, this couldn't have been a one sided crush, it just couldn't!

A silvery eyebrow rose at the now distressed beauty, and Bakura's mouth pulled into a toothy grin. "So! You weren't just friends."

"If that's what he's been telling you, then he was giving me the wrong impression for a _long_ time," the blonde snarled, "when he gets here I'm going to… Ooh! That jackass!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, he could've been putting on an act! Don't judge him by what _I've_ told you, wait until he comes by and then you can sock him in the balls. Have patience kitten."

"_Stop calling me that_!" the small blonde whirled around, thoroughly annoyed, "You've known me for a total of one hour and you're already calling me pet names? What makes you think you have _any_ right to-!"

"Why the hell are you being so defensive? Look, I don't know what went on between you and Marik, but from what I've seen from _him_ and from my first impressions of _you_, there was something going on between you guys! Now sit your ass down and cool off!"

"Don't tell me what to do! You don't even know me, much less Marik, so back off and mind your own damn business!"

"Oh, I get why Marik liked you," Bakura smirked, "Not only are you pretty, but you're a bit of a bitch too, aren't you? Yeah, yeah, I can see it!"

Bakura expected Malik to slap him after that comment. What he didn't expect was for Marik Ishtar to knock a few of his teeth out.

"Is that any way to welcome someone into our humble abode?" Marik said nastily, one arm slung around a very smug Malik. "Sorry that I'm a bit late to the party; I had to get _someone_ a chicken sandwich."

"The kitten started it," Bakura whined, only to have a set of Anatomy books thrown at him.

"So Malik, what brings the unexpected visit?"

"Well, I just thought that you'd begun to miss me after so long," Malik said sweetly, giving his former neighbor a playful punch on the arm, "and I was totally right! So, you happy to see me Marik?"

"Maybe," Marik smiled, ruffling the smaller boy's hair, "but don't think I ain't pissed off about you not replying to my letters."

"Isis wouldn't let me," the smaller blonde pouted, "That's why I've come to Japan all by my beautiful self just to see you. It's been really lonely without you…"

"Well, such a special visitor deserves a special night on the town, right? Bakura! You wanna go out tonight?"

"To where?" Bakura said through a mouthful of chicken breast, "We going clubbing?"

"Why not? Malik, you've never been old enough to see the nightlife around Japan, right?"

"Unfortunately, no," Malik sighed, twirling a strand of Marik's hair around his fingers, "I'd _love_ to go Marik. Even with _you_ Bakura!"

Mahogany eyes rolled, but the med student still tapped his nose in agreement. "If you were any less adorable I would've refused. Afraid it can't be tonight though, I've got some books to finish."

"You mean you actually _read_?" The small blonde had never thought of Bakura as the scholarly type. "Someone's taking their studies seriously. Good for you! I _loathe_ reading boring nonfiction. Give me some historical fiction and I'll be inside all day!"

"How unfortunately true that is," Marik grimaced. "I hardly got to see you in those months before you moved away. You were always inside studying for that stupid Calculus final. You were never very good at math, were you?"

"I still suck. Languages and art were always my strong points."

"And yet Isis still pressured you to take more advanced math classes," the taller blonde grumbled, running a hand through Malik's hair, "I shudder to think of you trapped with that horrid woman for eighteen hours on a plane."

"It was actually quite bearable, apart from her walrus-like snoring."

"Then I hope you don't mind sharing a bed with me…"

"Oh please! As if you'd ever let him sleep in the same bed as _me_," the white haired teen laughed.

"As if I'd ever _want_ to sleep in the same bed as you," Malik grinned.

"Sassy little bitch aren't you?"

"Keep your comments to yourself Bakura," Marik snapped, casually massaging Malik's back, "unless you want some more textbooks to… Huh? Malik, what's with the bandages?"

"Isn't it obvious? I got burned," Malik said simply, "Just a little brush with some fire, don't worry about it, it's nothing."

"I saw some third degree burns on the kid's back," Bakura interjected, earning a nasty glare from Malik. "I suggest full medical attention before any alcohol consumption."

"Hate to say it Malik, but I think Bakura's got a point." Marik shrugged, noticing the smaller blonde's sour expression.

"But I don't wannaaaaaa!" Malik clung to Marik's dark shirt and continued his pitiful whining. "Please don't make me go Marik! You know I hate doctors! Please, please, please, please, please? Don't make me goooo…"

"Bakura, he doesn't want to go," The psychology student pouted, "and if he's standing upright and talking to me right now, it can't be _that_ bad right?"

"Actually I've been wondering about that myself," Bakura said suspiciously, "burns like that are supposed to be hideously painful. How is it that you're able to function so normally? Can't you feel it?"

"I'm just plucky like that," the demon smiled, "sometimes there are things that can't been explained through textbooks. Get your nose into some fantasy novels why don't you?"

"The last thing I need right now is to read nonsense about angels and demons. I'd prefer to keep my feet firmly rooted in reality."

Malik shrugged, relishing in the irony of it all. "Suit yourself."

* * *

Seto prowled through the cobblestone streets of Hell, keeping a sharp eye out for a head of messy blonde hair. A few female demons winked as he passed, licking their lips suggestively. He rolled his eyes is disgust and ignored their presence, his mind set on bringing Jounouchi back to his bar, Ivory. Without the fiery Malik to help, Seto had found himself flooded with thirsty customers, all demanding the same thing. Beer, and a sight of the 'pixie.'

A rival tavern called The Mermaid's Tear was the place Jounouchi often went to brood when things weren't going his way. Learning from experience, the blue-eyed demon entered the bar casually, earning stares from the regular patrons. A tanned demon with an ornate tattoo on his face was washing mugs tiredly at the front, the ten or so customers sipping their drinks slowly, seemingly bored of even existing. Giving a small nod to his respected rival, Seto located the only blonde head in the room. His former employee was currently peeling potatoes, looking frustrated and sorrowful at the same time.

"Good to see you Rishid," Seto said curtly, "how's business?"

"Ever since word of your new barmaid got around, horrible!" The green-eyed demon laughed, "But it's not like we'll ever close shop. There won't be a shortage of damned souls anytime soon."

"Unfortunate, but true. I see you've found my stray puppy."

Rishid shrugged, "Of course. He always comes here after the two of you have had a feud. You'd think he'd know better by now."

"Take it easy on him, he was shot in the head," Seto smirked, knowing that would get on the blonde's nerves.

"What the hell are you doing here Kaiba?" Jounouchi scowled, slicing a poor spud cleanly in half.

"I've come to tell you that Malik has taken a temporary leave," Seto said coolly, crossing his arms. "So if you're tired of living in this dump come back to Ivory. I could use the help."

"Why don't you find some other blonde bimbo with a pretty face to work for you? Then you can ignore me again, won't that be fun?"

"_Please_. I can't believe you're jealous of _Malik_," the brunette frowned, leading Jounouchi away they could speak in private. "He's just a kid; he doesn't have anywhere else to go. He's young, he's scared, and he'd be in danger if I hadn't cared for him. How would _you_ feel if I had refused to take you in?"

"That's just it, you'd already taken _me_ in; you didn't need to take _Malik_ in. We used to be a team Kaiba, then the brat shows up and you fawn over him like a little girl over a new kitten. Whatever happened to _us_? Whatever happened to it just being _our_ bar? _Our_ home? _Our_…"

"I refuse to have this conversation with you," Seto growled, showing his fangs, "You've been dead eighty years; you can take care of yourself. You've been around long enough to know how it works down here and you don't need me to hold your hand."

"But you find the need to hold Malik's? Quit giving me the lame excuses about how he's so young and vulnerable. So what? He'll learn! Just like the rest of us have! Who was there to hold your hand, huh Kaiba? Who? No one! You learned about the ups and downs of this damned fate and you turned out just fine! Why the hell do you feel the _need_ to take in that little-"

"Is there shame in seeing yourself in someone else's eyes," the tall demon said softly, averting his gaze. "Should I feel embarrassed that in Malik I see a reflection of myself? Young? Naïve? Impressionable? It's true, I had no one to look after me when I came here, but your assumption that I 'turned out fine,' is completely wrong. There are things you don't know about me Katsuya, and I'd like to keep it that way. But all that concerns me is that this place doesn't make Malik into what I've turned into. Now come with me back to Ivory. You've got a lot of work to catch up on."

"Alright, alright," Jounouchi said cautiously, not wanting to rile Seto up any more than he needed to, "on one condition. I get to sleep with you in your room. I mean, just until Malik comes back from wherever he's gone to. Deal?"

A ghost of a smile flickered across Seto's cold features. "No deal."

* * *

Yami sipped from a golden goblet, staring taciturnly at the scene before him. Everything about heaven was perfect. The people were attractive and friendly, the cities were clean and beautiful, and the food was nothing sort of excellent. It was so refreshing, so coveted, so…boring. The angel heaved a heavy sigh. Surely Hell had to be more interesting, despite the danger and deceit that lurked its streets. At least it was interesting. Here, Yami knew exactly what to expect. Get up, walk around, talk to friendly people about friendly things and then sit down, sip wine and look perfect. The End. There was no need for work or money in heaven; clothes and luxury items just appeared when wanted. It was new and exciting at first, but now it was just annoying.

A small dove appeared before the brooding angel carrying a small apple. Yami took the apple and thanked the bird, biting into the pristine juiciness of the former forbidden fruit. Content for the moment, he wondered when everyone else would realize their precious All-Seeing Mirror had been stolen.

'_Probably after the Apocalypse_,' the angel thought cynically.

"Yami! Yami look!"

A distressed Ryou appeared before him, panting heavily and carrying the fake mirror. "Yami! There's a demon! A demon living with Bakura! Just look!"

Violet eyes watched the scene in the mirror's reflection. The two college students, Marik and Bakura, were talking quietly over a modest dinner of pasta and salad. The blonde then pulled in an extra stool and motioned for an unseen person to sit down. Yami's jaw dropped as the young demon that had been with Jounouchi and Seto came into view, sitting shyly at the dinner table. Instead of eating, the boy stared longingly into the face of Marik Ishtar, turning away when it seemed to other blonde had noticed. He had somehow lost his demon attributes, but there was one item that gave away his true nature. Around his neck, hidden under a flimsy white tank top was a black pearl, glowing ominously in the eyes of the pure souls.

"By God…"

"What do you think he's up to?" Ryou said worriedly, looking over Yami's shoulder, "Do you think he's dangerous? What if he hurts Bakura? Yami, we need to do something!"

"Calm down Ryou, he's just a kid," Yami said shortly, trying to comfort the distressed cherub. "He was one of the three demons who stole the All-Seeing Mirror. He didn't have any weapons, I don't think…"

"What is he doing there? What if he was sent to deter Bakura from the right path?" The white haired angel flitted around nervously, "What, what, what? New demons aren't allowed to return to Earth!"

"Some other demon must have given him the Ebony Pearl," the older angel reasoned, "It was probably Seto, those two seemed awfully close. Ryou, take the mirror to the Head Council and ask them if you can check this out. I need to pay a little visit to an old friend."

"Yami! …What…what do I do when I get down there? I can't kill anyone! Not even if it's a demon! I…I wouldn't be able…"

"There are other ways to break someone Ryou," Yami said seriously, grabbing the other angel's shoulders, "if you can't hurt him physically, there's always the psychological route. Find out what he wants and take it from him. I doubt he'll be any threat to a seasoned angel like you. Do it, they started this mess and we'll have to be the ones to clean it up."

"Break him… Yami, I can't do that!"

"It's for the good of the angels Ryou!" the other angel shouted, taking off, "Remember, demons deserve everything they get!"

"But! …Oh, it's no use. He's already gone. Break him…? I don't even know what his intentions are…" Ryou looked into the mirror again, observing the young demon closely. So far, the blonde had been very respectful of the two humans, he seemed harmless. But one couldn't be too sure…

"I'll go down, just to check… Oh please young one…please don't make me hurt you!"

* * *

**TBC**

Next chapter! Malik and Ryou get off to a rocky start, Yami confronts Seto, Marik and Malik share a tender moment, and Ryou finally gets to meet Bakura! **Five reviews** minimum for the next chapter, PLEASE REVIEW AFTER YOU READ MY STORIES! (Any grammar or spelling mistakes to this chapter will be fixed later.)


	5. Look Down

**A Little Fall of Rain**

**Summary**: When the angel Ryou becomes smitten with a mortal who he believes can do no harm, he creates a misunderstanding, resulting in the wrath of the young demon Malik whose unrequited love was never satisfied in life.

**Rated**: T

**Genre**: Supernatural/Romance

**Author's Note:** This chapter is dedicated to **XxMalik LoverxX** for being the fifth reviewer! I am _so_ serious about my review quota. I will not update a story until I am satisfied with the review count. I know there are people out there that read the story all the way through. I don't bite! And it's not like reviewing takes a huge chunk out of your life anyway.

**Disclaimer**: Characters belong to Kazuki Takahashi. Even Malik! …That lucky bastard.

**Look Down**

Malik and Marik walked together quietly through the darkened streets of Domino City, tears of rain pounding a soft rhythm on their sweeping umbrella. The taller blonde had an arm around the young demon's waist, holding him close in a rare gesture of kindness. They had been walking for who knows how long, not really knowing where they were going when they started. It was late, very late. So late that most of the ghost hour diners had been closed for some time. But still they walked, boots padding in unison on the slick sidewalk. Saying nothing. Hearing nothing. Just happy to have someone to walk with.

The street lamps casts a hazy ghost of light on the reflective streets, some blinking quietly shut. Mannequins in a nearby shop window stared soullessly out at the two blondes, their painted mouths smiling at nothing. The demon shivered, unnerved by the white faces looking back at him. He instinctively pressed closer to Marik's body, trying to hide from the blank eyes. Marik smiled, giving his old neighbor a reassuring squeeze. He would never let anyone scare Malik. It was always that way. _Always_.

The streets grew darker and yet they continued to press forward, oblivious of the sightless world surrounding them. The walk itself had begun strangely enough. Marik had woken up with a dry throat, and left the warmth of his bed to get a glass of water. However, he had found Malik seated in front of the window looking up into the midnight sky, his lilac eyes reflecting an unseen sorrow. The rain was gently tapping the window pane, whispering muted invitations to the young demon. Suddenly feeling less tired, Marik tapped Malik on the shoulder and motioned to the door, holding a single finger up to his lips before looking to Bakura's sleeping form. The small blonde blushed and slowly nodded in understanding, moving to find more appropriate clothing. But as soon as he stood, Marik draped a large black coat over his shoulders, already wearing one himself. The two blondes left the small room, closing the door noiselessly. With nothing except an umbrella they set off into the night, allowing the silvery streets to take them to their unknown destination.

Somewhere a bell tolled, four dull cries, signaling the life that would begin in just two hours time. The pair had been walking to nowhere for four hours straight. Malik yawned, heavy eyes struggling to stay open. Slowly they came to a stop, Marik looking at the smaller blonde with slight concern.

"You finally tired Malik?" Marik said softly, his voice cracking from hours of silence.

"Maybe. Just a little. But tonight was worth the price I'll have to pay in the morning." Malik smiled, laying his head on Marik's chest. "Everything was perfect."

"Yeah, the rain made everything really beautiful," the student mused, looking around at the infinite blackness, "even though it's dark, the pavement shines like silver. Pretty cool, right?"

"Mmmhmm…"

"Wanna head back now?"

"Marik…I need to ask you…"

"Yes?"

"What am I…to you?"

Marik looked down at the Malik's quiet form, sensing the seriousness of his question. "What brought this up?"

"Bakura…he said that you only saw me as a friend. And I want to know…" Malik looked into Marik's dark eyes, endless years of bottled up pain leaving his body in the shape of tears. "What do I have to do…to be worth more to you?"

Marik looked away, his arm dropping from Malik's shoulder. For the first time that night, the demon felt cold. There was a sharp pain in his chest, the pain of a heart beginning to crack

"Marik I-I'm sorry…It was a stupid question, and you obviously… You know what, just forget I even asked-"

"I love you," Marik said quietly, turning to the frightened blonde and grasping his hands reassuringly, "And I'm sorry…I made you cry. I just never thought you'd feel the same way about a stupid asshole like me. I know it was selfish…but I didn't want Bakura to look at me any different if it turned out you didn't like me. I mean your sister-"

"Isis doesn't rule my life anymore," Malik said truthfully, bitterly remembering her tragic death. "No one tells me what I can't do. And even if she didn't approve…I'd kill her with my own hands before if she ever tried to take you away from me."

"Heh, possessive much? You should take it easy Malik. Forget whatever Bakura said, don't get yourself worked up about things like this. You know I'll always be there to look after you." Marik gave the smaller blonde a warm hug, burying his face into the boy's sweet smelling hair. "Not even the Devil himself could tear us apart…"

* * *

A loud crash of thunder awoke Malik from his dream, and he found himself dry and rather cold inside the boys' college dorm. He was lying alone on the bottom bunk; Marik had decided to sleep on the floor. Bakura was snoring lightly in the bed above them. Both were fast asleep. Malik sighed heavily and placed his head back onto the plush feather pillow. It was just a stupid dream. Marik would have never done anything like that out of the blue. And besides…they were just _friends_.

A single tear dropped. There was one thing real about that dream.

It was raining outside.

* * *

"Well, well, well. Looks like the heavens have decided to grace us with a visit from one of their angels! Too bad he's pathetic."

"You talk big Kaiba, but you'll never be able to back it up," Yami sneered, unfurling his white wings to their full extent, "Demons are of a lower class than us angels. Why, I bet even a human could bring you to your knees."

"You take that back!" Jounouchi snarled, lunging for the offending angel before getting elbowed in the gut by an extremely irritated Seto.

"Not now puppy. Mommy and Daddy have a little grudge match to settle."

"D-Damn it Kaiba!" The blonde choked, struggling to his feet, "I just wanna help you kill this asshole!"

"Don't take this too personally Katsuya, but I don't want to spend the next century gathering your fallen limbs from the four corners of Hell. In other words, you're not strong enough to burst this cherub's ego. Leave it to the professionals. Now then," Seto smirked, turning to the scowling angel, "what brings your unwanted visit my _dear_ comrade? What reasons do you have for tainting your ethereal feathers with the fine dust of the damned?"

"My business with you is best discussed in private," Yami breathed, unsettled by the endless sea of cat eyes surrounding him. "I'm afraid this news is too important to be heard by the scum you call customers."

"Listen to the pretty boy talk," cackled Varon, a regular patron, "Thinking he's all high and mighty just because he's got those big pearly wings. Let me tell you, I'd rather spend my eternity as a damned soul than be cooped up in the same place this guy comes from!"

A loud rumble of agreement followed.

"I shall honor the angel's request," Seto laughed mockingly, motioning for Yami to follow him upstairs, "But believe me, this is the last time you'll ever order me around."

"Kaiba! Don't trust that guy! He's already tried to kill you once and-"

The demon ignored the blonde's violent objections and shut the bedroom door loudly, leaving the two rivals standing face to face.

"What do want now Yami?" Seto sighed. "If this is about the mirror-"

"The mirror is the least of my worries," Yami said quickly. "What in Hell's name possessed you to give the Ebony Pearl to a _baby_ demon? Do you have any idea how much damage he'll cause?"

"Why is this any of your concern?" Seto replied smoothly, "What my charge and I do is none of your business. Shouldn't you be spending your time trying to stop global warming or something?"

"This is deathly serious Kaiba," the angel insisted, "the safety of those humans _and your charge_ are at stake."

For the first time in the conversation, Seto looked worried. "What do you mean? Malik's not in any danger at all. If he willingly breaks the pearl in a year's time he'll return to me. Where's the danger in that?"

"You make breaking the pearl seem like such an easy task," the shorter spirit said quietly, "but it takes more than physical strength to shatter it. Don't you know? If the wearer's magic is too weak, the pearl won't break."

"That isn't true," the demon retorted, azure eyes widening, "you're lying! There's never been an incident when the pearl has refused to break-"

"There's also never been someone stupid enough to give the pearl to a two year old demon," Yami snapped, "until now that is. You know what happens if that pearl isn't broken; the wearer's spirit will fall into limbo. You'll never see him again."

"That isn't true…"

"Believe what you want Kaiba, I'm just telling you what will happen. Angels don't lie. The head council is already planning an attack on your charge; they don't take things like this lightly. Even if he doesn't cause any harm, they'll kill him. You _need_ to find a way to bring him back Kaiba. I know you've no concern for the humans' safety, but would you _really_ risk the life of your charge?"

"You expect me to believe this drivel?" Seto growled dangerously, though he looked extremely pale, "You just want the rest of those white winged air heads to execute me for trespassing on human ground. I am _not_ going to fall for this Yami. There's nothing endangering Malik and nothing you can say will make me change my mind. I refuse to take anything you say with substance. You're a snake."

"We'll just have to see Kaiba," the angel shrugged, "I may despise what you've become, but I _hate_ watching the innocent die. I really do hope you come to your senses soon. For Malik's sake."

Yami turned and silently exited the room, closing the door with a muted thud. He leaned against the wooden frame and smiled. Everything he had just spoken was a flat out lie. The Ebony Pearl could be broken by a young demon as easily as an elder. However Yami _adored_ the raw anxiety and fear he had seen on Seto Kaiba's face that grew with every single barbed word he had said. He knew that despite Kaiba's rough façade, the heart of an overprotective fool still beat within him. _That_ was his rival's greatest weakness.

What would the demon do? Would he sacrifice his own life to needlessly 'save' his charge? Or would he wait for the angels to punish the hapless blonde for endangering the lives of mortals? Either way, Kaiba would end up getting hurt. The revenge Yami had lusted for so long would finally be fulfilled. Phase one of his plan was completed. The malevolent angel flexed his soft wings and walked down the stairs. Phase two would begin in a week's time…

* * *

Ryou sighed and nibbled quietly on his powdered donut. It had been six hours since the angel had arrived on Earth, thankfully (or not) already fully clothed. He was sitting outside a small café, watching hundreds of unfamiliar faces pass by, none of them belonging to Bakura or the demon. But Ryou was a dutiful angel. He ordered several more sweet pastries and continued to wait, a tiny voice inside of him starting to think his mission to thwart the blonde demon's motives (whatever they may be) was utterly hopeless. However, as a nearby clock chimed two, Ryou felt a suffocating darkness heading in his direction. Past experience told him that his sickly feeling was being caused by the Ebony Pearl, which reeked of evil to ethereal beings like himself. The angel bit his lip. The duel between two worlds was about to commence.

"Hey! Malik got a bigger cup," Bakura complained irritably, referring to the size of the blonde's frozen coffee. "How come you only bought me a medium?"

"Because you're you," Marik said simply, giving the white haired teen a playful shove. "And you're not my super special awesome guest. Besides, you never finish your coffee."

"And you think someone _smaller_ than me will?"

"No. But that just means I get to have his leftovers!"

Malik blushed and sipped the vanilla flavored drink shyly. There was a sort of childish happiness bubbling inside of him, but as Marik had said, he was only getting this special treatment because he was a guest. There was _nothing_ romantic about being a guest. The demon began to sigh in light misery when Marik suddenly draped an arm around his shoulder.

"You cold?" The taller blonde said casually.

"Y-Yeah," Malik stuttered, thoroughly enjoying every moment of Marik's friendly closeness. "Thanks for the coffee. You really didn't have to punch the barista in the face though."

"He was looking at you too long," Marik muttered darkly. "I hate it when people do that."

"I hate when people look at me too long too," Bakura said suddenly, "It makes me think I have something in my teeth. Or that the person has special powers that allow them to see into the deep recesses of my soul."

The two blondes stared at him blankly.

"What? It could happen," the other insisted, walking right into a shorter boy carrying a box of creampuffs. That boy, as you've probably already guessed, was Ryou. I'm also betting you assumed the box of calorie packed pastries fell to the ground.

But they didn't.

First, they flew up into the air and kissed the afternoon sun, and then the box found a landing spot on Malik's sweet little head. There was a loud squeak, and before anyone knew it, the blonde's prized locks were covered with patches of sugary cream, and to be honest, he was taking it better than anyone had expected.

Marik winced. Bakura cackled. Ryou gasped.

"Ahh! I'm so sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going and… Here, let me help you-"

"That won't be necessary," Malik ground out, trying very hard to keep his temper while trying to get all the whipped cream out of his hair, "I heard sugar does wonders for the scalp."

Meanwhile, Marik was busy beating the stuffing out of a breathless Bakura.

"Ahahahahahaha! Right on his head!"

"I swear if you don't shut up I'm locking you out of the dorm and throwing you into the filthiest dumpster in the city!"

"You wouldn't dare!"

"You don't know me very well Bakura," Marik growled.

Ryou blushed and offered the demon a small smile. "If it's any consolation, I'd _love_ it if a box of cream puffs was suddenly dropped on _my_ head."

Malik laughed sarcastically, "It's a _shame_ this one didn't huh?"

The angel quietly rolled his eyes the blonde's horrible attempts to hide his annoyance and walked over to the still laughing Bakura. Marik had gone over to try and comfort Malik.

"Don't worry about it. Cream comes off really easy in the shower!"

"But I don't want to go home just to wash my hair," the other whined, "I wanted to hang out with you guys today!"

"I never said were going home," Marik scoffed, "I just said not to worry about it." He took a strand of Malik's hair and quickly ran it through his mouth for a taste. "Hmm, not bad."

"Are you okay?" Ryou asked concernedly, tilting his head to one side. "That other guy looked like he was giving you a hard time."

"Eh, he's just mad because I was laughing at his _boyfriend_," the medical student said scathingly, giving his roommate an ugly look. "That was a nice move, even if it was accidental."

"Thanks…I think," the angel blushed, "but it _really_ was an accident. I didn't mean for such fresh creampuffs to go to waste so quickly-"

"_Waste_? Are you suggesting that those creampuffs went to waste? _On me_?" Malik hissed as Marik combed fingers through his hair.

"Actually, I wasn't," Ryou replied shortly, "but if you're going to be immature about it then yes. I was _planning_ on giving those creampuffs to some children down at the orphanage, but-"

"Please," the demon spat, "don't try to make this look like it was _our_ fault. _You_ walked into _us_. And I bet those creampuffs were going straight into that belly of yours with all the other helpless candy you've probably devoured this morning."

"Are you trying to suggest I'm fat?"

"Well, you're certainly larger than _my_ gorgeously perfect self."

"You'll forgive me if I find starving myself to the point of death just to fit into a pair of size 0 jeans idiotic. But then again someone as shallow as you are _would_ value beauty over intelligence. Most dumb blondes are guilty of that flaw."

"Unfortunately for you, I've been blessed with both," Malik twitched. "And you know what? I'm smart enough to know that a butterball like you walked into us on purpose just to get the attention of Mr. Clean over there."

Ryou turned bright pink and clenched his fists tightly, "Why you _horrible_ little-!"

"Bring it Whitey!"

Marik, knowing from experience that Malik was more than capable of holding his own in a fight (especially a fistfight), forcibly pulled the blonde away from the angel. Despite fervent protests from the demon, the tanned blonde continued to steer him away from a possibly physical confrontation.

"Marik let me go! Ungh! I'm gonna kick his ass! NO ONE CALLS ME A DUMB BLONDE AND GETS AWAY WITH IT!"

"Bakura," the taller blonde called back, dodging the demon's flailing limbs, "I'm gonna take Malik and look for some outfits for tonight. We'll meet you back in the room at around six!"

"_LEMME GO_!"

"SHUT THE HELL UP ALREADY!"

The white haired teen watched in amusement as his roommate hoisted the enraged Malik onto his back.

"Those two are _so_ into each other," he smirked.

"The little one's a bit of a loose cannon," Ryou giggled, looking into Bakura's rich brown eyes. "I don't know how the other puts up with him."

Bakura shrugged, "They've known each other a long time. I'm guessing they've learned to deal with one another's imperfections. If you ask me, that's what the definition of a couple _is_. But that idiot's too much of a loser to admit he has feelings for the kid."

"You seem to enjoy analyzing their relationship," the angel grinned, raising an eyebrow, "but I'm more concerned about who's going to pay for my breakfast. Those creampuffs weren't exactly cheap you know."

"So you _were_ going to eat them! You're a little sneak."

"I hope I don't rub off on you," Ryou joked, "wouldn't want you to stray from the path to salvation."

"That's pretty profound," Bakura scoffed, "do you work for the church or something?"

"Something like that. Oh! How rude of me! I haven't even introduced myself properly. They call me Ryou Bakura. And you?"

"Bakura Touzoku. Hey, my first name is your last."

"Weird huh?"

"I guess. It's kind of… Oh shit! I totally forgot that I had to buy a new book for the dissection tomorrow!"

"You're taking medicine?" Ryou asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yeah, I'm only on my second year though. Crap, I don't think I have enough money for it…damn. Hey Ryou, do by any chance-"

"I'll pay for it," the angel said eagerly, taking the mortal's hand, "I wouldn't want you to fail any of your classes on account of your financial trouble. Come on!"

The two platinum haired teens raced across the city in search of a bookstore. Ryou was trying hard not to burst with sheer joy at the thought of _actually_ spending the afternoon with the boy he had been watching for so long. However the grim mission of 'breaking' the young demon still lingered in the back of his mind. Although beautiful, the blonde certainly _was_ violent, and his presence seemed to have already affected the two innocent students that had taken him in. Never before had Ryou heard such coarse language coming from Bakura when he had spoken in the mirror, and the angel could only conclude that Malik had caused his darling to temporarily slip. The other blonde appeared to have been greatly tainted by the young demon, enough to brutally punish Bakura for a simple laugh. Whether the consequences of Malik's meddling were intentional or not, they had already caused the two mortals to fall into the hands of damnation. But he would change all that. An angel's guidance would be able to thwart any demon's temptation. And if saving his Bakura meant breaking Malik's spirit, then so be it.

* * *

TBC

What will Seto do? What's Yami's plan? Will Marik ever confess his love for Malik? Will Ryou succeed in 'breaking' our adorable blonde hero? STAY TUNED FOR MORE!

**Five reviews** for the next chapter, blah blah blah, _OKAY GO_!


	6. Red and Black

**A Little Fall of Rain**

**Summary**: When the angel Ryou becomes smitten with a mortal who he believes can do no harm, he creates a misunderstanding, resulting in the wrath of the young demon Malik whose unrequited love was never satisfied in life.

**Rated**: T

**Genre**: Supernatural/Romance

**Author's Note:** I love this chapter. It's so cute! Ryou's not really in it …but that's because I don't like- (gets rocks thrown at her) Nevermind. I'll just say that it's my PERSONAL OPINION that Malik has had a HARDER LIFE than Ryou. I mean come on, he lived in _A HOLE IN THE GROUND_ for TEN YEARS and both his parents are dead BECAUSE OF HIM. If that's not the saddest childhood ever, then I don't know what is.

Oh yeah; One thing I've noticed about Yami Malik. A lot of people seem to think that his eyes are completely blank, but in certain scenes (when he's _really_ insane) you can see that he actually has slit pupils. Oooh! Ahh! Impressive no? Yep. That's what I do when I'm not writing this. I look at Yami Malik's eyes. …And I do homework. Lots of homework.

**Disclaimer**: Characters belong to Kazuki Takahashi. Even Malik! …That lucky bastard.

**Red and Black**

"Get it away from me!"

"Just a little taste!"

"No! No, no, no, no, no! I'm so serious, please-"

"Open wide…"

"Eww! Marik stop it!"

A fourteen year old Marik dangled the innocent piece of ham over Malik's head before shrugging and eating it himself. The smaller blonde, thirteen, gave a sigh or relief and returned to the lunch table, keeping a wary eye on his classmate.

"You're such a baby," Marik scoffed, "I mean it's not like a little piece of cured ham could kill you. I'm pretty sure they make sure the pig is dead before carving it up."

"That's the point!" Malik protested, "Do you know what kind of horrors those innocent animals have to endure just so they can become your lunch?"

"Not really," the other replied, "and to be honest, I don't really care. I mean, the way I see it, pigs are bred so they can be eaten, and if they weren't, then they'd no longer have a purpose for being born."

Lilac eyes glared dangerously at the taller boy, "That made absolutely _no_ sense. What if _you_ were born just to get eaten?"

"Thing is, I wasn't."

Malik growled lightly. Once Marik had his mind set on something, not even a tornado of opposing facts could change his mind. He was stubborn, a trait that the young boy had always found strangely appealing. After all, with a sister like Isis, Malik had learned early in life that stubbornness was not something to be tolerated. In fact, it earned him several nights without dinner.

"Besides," Marik continued, offering Malik a chip, "what about you and vegetables?"

"What _about_ me and vegetables?" The smaller boy said blankly, taking the fried potato.

"Have you ever considered the horrors vegetables have to go through before they get to the supermarket? Picking, cleaning, stickering, some even have to get _pickled_." Marik shuddered. If there was one thing he wouldn't eat, it was a cucumber that had been sitting in its own brine for so long it turned into something else.

"None of those involve a gunshot to the head!" Malik objected.

"That's because vegetables don't _have_ heads," the other replied, "but if they did… Hoo boy. You'd see a lot more vegetable activists."

The younger teen groaned and gave his old friend an exasperated look. "You scare me sometimes, you know that?"

"I scare a lot of people," Marik replied simply, handing Malik a juice box, "you were one of the few that didn't run crying to mommy the moment I showed you my dead insect collection."

"I don't _have_ a mom," Malik said bluntly, "that may have contributed to some part of it. But… never mind."

"No, go on."

"It's nothing," the blonde insisted.

"Malik! I hate it when people don't finish what they were gonna say, it's so-"

"It's not like I'm any less weird that you are."

"You mean our hair?"

"I _mean_ our little secret codes that only we understand. Like…"

"Our matching Ra plushies?" Marik offered.

"And the way you say hello by ruffling my hair."

"And our uncanny ability to-"

"Finish each other's sentences," Malik concluded. "See what I mean? I think that's what puts most people off."

"Screw them," Marik growled, eyeing a nearby table evilly. "It's not like they'll ever amount to anything. All they care about is conforming to the next big fad. It's only middle school Malik, I'm sure we'll have plenty of time to make friends."

"I guess so. I just don't want to grow up to be a lonely old hermit and end up dying alone, you know?"

"You're too pretty to die alone," Marik said, annoyed. "Are you gonna drink the juice or can I have it back?"

"Did you just say I was _pretty_?" Malik blinked, giving the small drink back to his friend.

"Well, it's true," the other said, their eyes meeting briefly. "Don't consider it a compliment though. It's just fact."

"I see," Malik replied sullenly, his moment of sunshine quickly clouding over with a haze of disappointment, "you didn't have to get my hopes up like that though."

"I got your hopes up?" Marik asked. "How so?"

"I thought you'd _actually_ said something nice about someone," the smaller blonde sighed, "but I guess even that's too much of a stretch, huh?"

"You make me sound like such an ass," the other teen grinned.

"Don't consider it a compliment, it's just fact," Malik mocked, eye twitching.

"Hey, hey! Come on, I was just kidding! You aren't mad are you?"

"I dunno does it look like it?" The tanned blonde hissed, standing up to leave. Just as he was about to walk away, Marik grabbed his wrist, causing Malik to look back. For the first time in a long time Malik had known the odd boy, he noticed the student's dark eyes shining with sincerity.

"Don't leave, please? I'm really sorry! Here, if you sit back down, I'll give you a _real_ compliment."

Interested, but still suspicious, Malik slowly sat back onto the plastic bench, making sure to stay a good distance away from his unpredictable classmate. Marik rolled his eyes and motioned for Malik to come closer, which the younger boy did, however he was ready to beat the living daylights out of the older boy should he try anything disgusting.

The small blonde all but melted as Marik planted a small kiss on his lips. Malik flushed and shrunk back from the other boy, holding a hand up to where the gesture of affection had hit. Marik crumpled up his empty lunch bag and tossed it into a nearby trashcan before walking toward the school building. Malik lingered behind him, speechless, flattered, happy and confused all at the same time. People only gave kisses to people they _loved_, didn't they?

"What? What the hell was-?"

"That," Marik called back, "was a compliment. Come on, we're gonna be late for fifth hour!"

"I…I'm coming!"

* * *

Bakura was ecstatic; Ryou had not only bought him a book, but some new clothes, a Nintendo DS (very hard to come by in Japan), a couple of games, and iPod, a cell phone, and for some reason, a large orange teddy bear. The med student staggered up the steps to the dorm room, fishing around his pockets while also trying to balance his new toys. He and Ryou had parted at the college entrance; why the polite young teen hadn't even bothered to offer any help was beyond him, but Bakura supposed he had some other business to attend to. After a full minute of searching, Bakura finally found his keys and shoved them eagerly into the door, wanting nothing more than to rub all of his good luck in Marik's face. He burst into the room, a toothy grin plastered on his lips.

"Heya guys! Look what Ryou got me! Bet you wished you were a bit nicer to him huh?"

Bakura blinked. No heavy textbooks were flung in his face, no biting expletives, not even a groan of annoyance. Confused, he checked the hanging clock on the opposite wall, only to have his jaw drop. It was ten thirty.

Marik had told him to return at six.

He was over four hours late.

Bakura came down to two possible reasons for the blondes' absence. Either they went clubbing without him and would come back too drunk to even care that he didn't show up, or they were standing behind him right now in an attempt to castrate him. Mahogany eyes darted over his shoulder, and the med student gave a sigh of relief when he realized the latter was void.

Bakura walked quietly into the dark room, setting his bags beside a few others that Marik and Malik had brought in. Eye twitching, he picked up a crumpled piece of paper and tossed in into a trash can, only to find several other pieces of paper underneath Marik's bed. Bakura growled and moved to reach under the wooden frame, when a soft glow caught his attention. Looking toward Marik's mattress, the boy could see a faint purple light coming from underneath the white sheets. Quickly forgetting about the mess, Bakura instinctively ripped the sheets from the bed in an attempt to see its source.

What he got instead was an unwanted nosebleed. The two blondes _hadn't_ gone out clubbing. In fact, they were sound asleep right under Bakura's sensitive nose. Marik was lying on his back, arms wrapped around the slim Malik, who was sleeping on top of him. The source of the glow was the odd pearl necklace Malik had refused to take off ever since his arrival, which was now resting innocently on Marik's toned chest. It was all so precious and sweet that Bakura could hardly stifle his laughter. A single drop of blood dripped onto the floor, catching the slumbering demon's attention. Malik's eyes slowly flickered to life, only to find a scary looking bleeding Bakura above him and a very dead looking Marik below.

"AHHHHHHH! I'VE KILLED BOTH OF THEM!"

"OH MY GOD! YOU TWO WERE HAVING _SEX_! "

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TWO SCREAMING ABOUT?"

"I HAVE TO CLEAN THOSE SHEETS!"

"MARIK! YOU'RE ALIVE!"

"EVERYONE SHUT UP!"

"Bakura!" Malik panted, pointing an accusing finger, "You bastard, you're _four hours_ late!"

"Well it looks like you two were having _plenty_ of fun without me," the white haired teen sneered, crossing his arms, "don't let my presence suck all the fun out of your sexual escapades."

Marik blinked and assessed his position with the blushing Malik and hastily withdrew his arms.

"I-It's not what it-"

"Looks like, I was just really cold and-"

"We were really sleepy so-"

Two shades of purple met in a desperate search for an explanation, but to no one's avail. Bakura grinned maniacally .

"Caught you two in the act!"

"What about _you_? Bet you had to make that kid feel _real good_ before he bought you all that stuff," Marik retorted in an attempt to change the subject.

"For your information," Bakura snorted, "he bought this stuff for me because he, quote, 'admired my ability to resist the temptations of evil.' By _evil_, I'm assuming he meant you two. He had a _super_ special bone to pick with _you_ Malik; apparently your presence has tainted my innocence. I suggest you run away with Marik into the nearby woods so you can go contaminate something else."

Malik fist clenched, "He said what? What a little bitch! Ooh! If he was here right now I'd pull his intestines through his nose stuff them into his eyelids so he couldn't see me chop off his tongue! Rrgh! Son of a bitch thinks he can judge me? That stupid ugly-!"

"Now look what you did," the other blonde sighed as his companion ranted, "He'll be up all night because of you!"

"Why don't you just calm him down with those magical hands of yours," the medical student teased, "You know, give him a big hard squeeze and then deny that you have any feelings for-"

"_Shut up_ Bakura!" Malik snapped, still fired up with hearing Ryou's comments, "You cheated me out of clubbing _twice_! When we finally go, and believe me _we will go_, you're paying for our drinks!"

"I don't have any money!" Bakura protested, "That isn't fair, I didn't know what time it was!"

"I don't care! You've got a billion new techno toys, I'm sure that ugly little tart bought you a watch!"

In a huff, the smaller blonde walked over to Bakura's bags and began to dig through them in search of something relatively easy to break. Bakura rolled his eyes and gave his roommate a dirty look before shaking his head. Marik opened his mouth to object, but was interrupted by the shattering of a porcelain angel.

Malik had his back against the wall, eyeing the broken figure fearfully. Bakura raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow as Marik instinctively moved to comfort the shivering demon. The medical student irritably stooped down to sweep up the shard and noticed a small amount of moisture on his fingers.

"What is that?" Marik asked accusingly, trying to pry a stunned Malik away from his spot on the wall.

"This was the angel figurine that Ryou bought me in order to ward off evil," Bakura scoffed, sweeping the pieces into a dustbin. "It's filled with holy water, blessed by a Catholic priest or something like that. I dunno, I never really understood that religion…"

Unbeknownst to the two humans, Malik had received a powerful jolt of pain when he had picked up the figurine. Finally catching his breath, the demon thought quickly of a way to cover up his random act.

"I'm sorry Bakura," Malik sighed, "It's just…it's so late and I was really sleepy-"

"Whatever," the other snapped, "save the excuses, I'll just go buy a new one tomorrow. Though, I'd keep one eye open tonight if I were you Malik. Wouldn't want your necklace to _accidentally_ go missing."

Malik whimpered.

"Lay off Bakura," Marik said, unwilling to continue the argument, "I'll pay for a new one if you want, just keep Malik out of it, alright? Now go to sleep already."

As the two blondes climbed back into bed (in a noticeably less suggestive position) Bakura cracked his back and slowly ascended up the short ladder to his own mattress, dreading the incoming Monday. Shutting his dark eyes to block out the dull glow of Malik's necklace, he wondered if he'd ever get another chance to see Ryou again; they had parted so quickly that Bakura didn't have a chance to thank him for his generosity. The boy had been so enthusiastic about their little shopping spree, and with every toy purchased came a piece of moral advice. It was slightly annoying at first, but Bakura had managed to tune him out, focusing instead on Ryou's charmingly sweet face. He assumed that's what Marik had learned to do when Malik was being difficult. Just focus on the face.

Shallow? Yes. Effective? Very.

* * *

**5 Reviews to get Chapter Seven!** This is where things start to get steamy… The plot thickens, Phase Two of Yami's plan goes into action, and one of the boys makes a move! Will it Be Bakura? Malik? Marik? Ryou? Review to find out! The reason this chapter is so short is because Seven's gonna be huge!


	7. Plumet Attack

**A Little Fall of Rain**

**Summary**: When the angel Ryou becomes smitten with a mortal who he believes can do no harm, he creates a misunderstanding, resulting in the wrath of the young demon Malik whose unrequited love was never satisfied in life.

**Rated**: T

**Genre**: Supernatural/Romance

**Author's Note:** Fellow Bronzeshipping fangirls? Two Words: Whipped Cream. This story finally earns its 'T' rating. Tendershipping fangirls? Ryou's back. :D The last portion of this chapter is a conversation between Yami and Ryou. The absence of anything other than dialogue is intentional; I'm trying to make it more…dramatic. Ooh! And the lyrics of Malik's absentminded singing are from _Houkiboshi_, Bleach's third ending song.

**Disclaimer: **Yuugiou is not of belonging to me. Whoo, that was painful to type. _Go Engrish_!

**Plumet Attack**

Marik usually left school campus to buy lunch, but that morning he had decided to make the infamous ham sandwich that had terrorized Malik all those years ago. He didn't know why he felt the need to slop together a grade school meal, but something about Malik's presence seemed to have triggered a nostalgic effect on the normally irritable teen; after all, it _was_ a measly ham sandwich that had given Marik enough courage to give the smaller blonde such a memorable 'compliment.' It wasn't the only compliment either; Marik had snuck in a number of kisses throughout a majority of their middle school and high school life, but had never admitted to performing them out of pure affection. At first, he just wanted to tease Malik, thinking everything to be a game that neither would tire of playing. However as the two boys grew older, Marik found himself wanting to play the game more often. He started to notice the odd way Malik held his pencil, the way his hair seemed to change color when rays of sun hit it just right; and more than once he caught himself staring at the younger boy during his less interesting classes, earning stares from nearly half of the classroom. Even before Marik had begun learning the fundamentals of psychology, he knew that he had become infatuated with his next-door neighbor.

And that frightened him.

It wasn't that he was ashamed of having feelings for another boy; Marik had _always_ been rather ambiguous when it came to his sexual orientation. However, falling in love with someone he had known for so long could have jarring effects on their friendship. If he had managed to develop a relationship with Malik, their friendship would have evolved into something bigger, more intimate. But what would happen if the relationship were to end? Would that mean their long friendship would be dissolved as well? Despite Marik's sincere yearning for a real romance with Malik, the dread of destroying what they had worked so hard to accomplish held him back. It wasn't _him_ denying Malik's cravings for affection…it was his fear. Perhaps one day Marik would pluck up enough nerve to tell the other blonde how he felt. But, to be honest, he doubted it would be anytime soon.

The psychology student picked up the sandwich and finally began eating. It was cold.

But it was delicious.

"Marik!"

Said blonde coughed as Bakura landed a hearty slap on his back, bringing with him the unwelcome stench of formaldehyde.

"Sick Bakura! Ugh, did you just get finished dissecting?"

"Yup," he panted, beads of sweat clinging to his silver hair, "we got the corpses today! You should see them; they're so _creepy_! We…we were supposed to cut into the abdomen today, but when Takeshi-sensei wasn't looking I started messing around with its eyes, and-"

"Bakura, I'M EATING!"

"Huh? Oh yeah, guess the details _would_ be too gruesome for you, considering you're taking pussy psychology. I guess I should just go talk to the more manly students around here. Let's see, I'm sure Otogi's taking something interesting."

"Otogi's taking fashion design," Marik smirked, "but I'm sure he'll _love_ to hear about how you screwed yourself on the first day by botching your dissection."

Bakura paled. "Wha-what? What do you mean botch?"

"The professors check the bodies everyday for any foreign marks and deduct points for anything that wasn't involved in that day's instruction. Didn't you know that?"

"N-No! You're lying! You're using that reverse psychology stuff aren't you?"

"Believe what you want Bakura… But I warned you…"

The medical student plopped down beside Marik and tore a off piece of his sandwich. "Eh, I'll figure it out tomorrow. Hey this is pretty good Marik, never knew you had a talent for putting stuff on bread."

"Go fuck yourself."

"It was a compliment stupid," Bakura frowned, "Someone's being extra grumpy today! Aww…whatsa matter? Malik didn't put out last night?"

"_SHUT UP_ BAKURA!"

"You know what? Fine! If you don't want him, then _I'll_ take him. I've always wanted to taste Egyptian c-"

"Malik doesn't like you," Marik blushed, tearing another hole into the sandwich, "and he'd drop kick your ass out the door if you even touched him."

"Oh yeah, well…I GOT TO SEE MALIK TOTALLY NAKED BEFORE YOU CAME HOME LAST SATURDAY!" Bakura yelled gleefully.

_CHOKE! HACK! SPIT!_

"WHAT?"

"HA HA! YOU GOT _OWNED_!"

"Is that true Bakura?"

Both boys turned to see a shockingly pink Ryou standing behind their table holding a tray of several different types of cupcakes. His large eyes rested on Bakura, who had began to sputter out a string of nonsensical words.

"Nuh…uh…yuh…I…uh…see…"

"I suppose I'd misjudged your character yesterday," the younger boy said airily, "It seems you aren't the perfect gentleman you claimed to be. How disappointing, you had _such_ potential…"

"You're that kid who dropped all those puffs in Malik's hair," Marik said, narrowing an eye, "And who bought Bakura all that useless junk. I didn't know you went to this school."

"I just transferred," Ryou said in a huff, sitting uncomfortably close to Marik, "I came all the way from Osaka because I heard that they had marvelous classes concerning Child Development over here."

"I guess," the blonde coughed, scooting away from the angel.

"Oh, how rude of me! I didn't mean to be so imposing! It's just that ever since yesterday I've been meaning to tell you how sorry I was for ruining your date's hair. Though he does seem a bit vain-"

"He's wasn't my date," Marik interjected, "we're just _friends_."

"That's not what you said yesterday," Bakura said gloomily.

"So, you're free?" Ryou asked, "By which I mean you're single, right? No lover to tie you down?"

The medical student looked up suddenly. Mahogany eyes darting from Marik's indifferent expression to Ryou's odd grin.

"You could say that," Marik said slowly, narrowing his eyes.

Ryou smiled and looked away momentarily, trying to remember what he was supposed to say next. He couldn't even _believe_ he had allowed Yami to talk him into 'stealing' Marik. Not to say the blonde wasn't attractive, he just wasn't anywhere near as appealing to Ryou as Bakura was. But according to the older (and supposedly wiser) angel, the key to sending Malik back to Hell was to take away what he had come for. If Marik had found love in Ryou, then Malik would have no choice but to go home. It was cruel, almost _too_ cruel for Ryou's taste, but it needed to be done! …Didn't it? The angel bit his lip and allowed himself a quick glance at Bakura. He looked so betrayed…it was only yesterday when they had their little pseudo date, and already Ryou had broken it off. He didn't want to have anything to do with Marik; he just wanted to help Bakura find his way… but in order to do that, Malik _had_ to be removed from the picture. And that meant…

"You have any plans this weekend?" The angel pressed, attempting to place his hand on Marik's arm. The blonde noticed and quickly withdrew the limb, glaring daggers at the forceful newcomer. _Malik_ was never this clingy and they'd known each other for forever!

"Don't take this the wrong way, but if you try to touch me again _I will hurt you_."

"Eh? I'm sorry! I suppose that was rather intrusive, wasn't it? Forgive me, I just…well…"

Marik blinked and looked at Ryou inquiringly. Was he trying to hit on him? Because frankly, having someone you hardly knew try to score with you was slightly unnerving. Especially if that someone was a polite young man that could have easily been toppled over by a slight breeze.

"We're planning to go to clubbing Saturday night, _not that it's any of your business_."

"Ooh! How fun!" Ryou squealed, secretly loathing the idea of entering an alcohol filled sex pit with drunken young adults, "Can I come?"

The blonde thought for a moment. Saying 'no' seemed rather rude, but saying 'yes' would almost certainly invoke the wrath of Malik, who had spent a good majority of the previous night thinking up morbid ways to decapitate Ryou. The smaller blonde _seemed_ adorably naïve and slightly immature, but if you managed to get on his bad side you'd discover that he was actually extremely clever and frighteningly persistent.

Other than having Malik to deal with, Marik also didn't really like that the younger boy was trying to force himself into their close little group of three. He had been out with Bakura _once_ and had humiliated the love of his life by dropping a box of pastries on his head. What made _him_ believe he had _any_ right to invite himself in?

"_No_."

"Yes!" Bakura blurted out, "We'd love it if you came!"

"Bakura, I don't think Malik-"

"Who cares about him?" the other student snorted, causing Ryou's eyes to brighten. "I don't care what you say Marik, you're getting whipped by that sassy little bitch and _you like it_."

The angel's heart nearly burst with joy. Bakura had successfully thwarted Malik's attempts to draw him into Hell! Score one for the good guys!

"Fine! Fine, fine, fine, fine, fine," Marik sighed, throwing his hands into the air, "he can come. But it was _your_ idea."

"Okay then, no problem!"

"Great!" Ryou smiled, "I'll see you guys there!"

The bell rang and Ryou dashed away, silently cursing himself for not being able to pull Marik toward the path to salvation. Malik seemed to already have a strong hold on the human's heart, distorting his decisions. The angel sighed softly, irritated at his powerless situation. How strong was this demon anyway? He was young but still managed to work his magic on an innocent mortal! Unless Marik really…? But that was impossible. No one could love a demon _willingly_; it had to be a trick! But it seemed impossible to break the two blonde's apart…

Bright brown eyes burned with determination. If Marik didn't want anything to do with him, then so be it. All he had to do was make Malik believe otherwise. The angel flexed his fingers experimentally, closely examining the delicate folds of skin around his knuckles. If he could somehow _force_ Marik to kiss him…

"You're dead Bakura," Marik said nastily, walking slightly ahead of the love struck medical student, "you know Malik hates that guy's guts."

"What can he do?" Bakura scoffed, brushing away the warning, "He's like five inches shorter than me and only eats _vegetables_. What am I supposed to be scared of? Is he gonna hold an onion to my face and make me cry?"

The taller blonde smirked and held out his right hand for Bakura to see. There were three white scars encircling his pinky, as well as a dark scab that looked to have never healed.

"What's that?"

"I was six and he was five when I made the mistake of making fun of his hair. He tried to bite my little finger off, I needed to get twenty-seven stitches, _and_ I couldn't move it for _six months_. He was only _five _Bakura. Think of what he could bite off now! Hell, he could bite off your whole arm!"

"You're exaggerating!"

"Believe what you want to believe," Marik drawled, "you just better _pray_ I don't let it slip that you invited that little puffball to go clubbing with us."

* * *

"_Anata no koto omou to_, _mune ga itaku naru_ _no_," **(1)** Malik sang softly, lilac eyes glues onto the small screen of Bakura's new iPod. Since his two 'landlords' had conveniently left a rather large sum of money on their dressers, the young demon thought it only fitting to use it to buy a few odds and ends for the room's very empty interior. Nothing too noticeable; a new lamp, a few bean bag chairs, some books…and for some odd reason several cans of whipped cream.

"_Ima sugu aitai yo, dakedo sora wa tobenai kara…_" **(2)**

The boy's pink tongue peeked out to remove a sticky drop of strawberry smoothie from his tanned hands, savoring the sweet tartness of his favorite fruit. A medium sized iced drink was another indulgence Malik treated himself to using Marik and Bakura's money. He knew was a tad selfish…but the tempting call of strawberry was too seductive to ignore. And besides, they could always earn more money.

He smirked, drawing his finger lazily though the light pink slush. He then brought the digit up to his awaiting lips and began sucking on it lavishly, knowing very well just how suggestive his actions were. If only Marik were here to see it…

"Malik! I got off early, there was an explosion in the west side of the quad and…Malik where'd all this stuff come from?"

Malik's eyes targeted the aforementioned blonde and he stood up, pocketing 'his' iPod and offering Marik a sip of his cherished smoothie.

"I did a _touch_ of shopping while you two were off learning about the different ways to get inside a person's head!" He said happily, "you really should be more careful about where you leave your money. With little demons like me running around it might not be there when you get back!"

Marik blanched.

"Whatever happened to _asking_?"

"Well I didn't want to bother you," Malik said innocently, large eyes glittering apologetically, "I mean…I thought you'd be happy…but…"

Sniff, sniff…

"Oh no," the taller blonde groaned. 'Not that look…'

"Mariku-sama," the demon cooed, "you aren't upset with me are you? I was just trying to help…"

'MUST RESIST! BUT…CAN'T! TOO CUTE…! MUST…GIVE IN…MIGHT…EXPLODE!' Marik sighed, acknowledging defeat. Damn that child's power to make him feel all warm and gooey inside. "Don't worry about it…I was just kidding you! I _love_ the…new squishy things."

"They're chairs dumbass," Malik snapped, his personality quickly reverting to its typical cheekiness, "and I see that even after all these years you still turn to putty when I look at you like that."

"Ever consider that I was just teasing?" the other blonde lied smoothly, "We've known each other for so long that I'd be surprised if you _didn't_ try to get your way with that look. But really…I like the stuff you got."

"Really? Then you'll _love_ what's in the fridge."

"…What's in the fridge?"

Giggling mischievously, the small demon popped out with two cans of whipped cream, shaking the cardboard tubes intensely. Marik's plum eyes widened at the two star shaped nozzles aimed right for his school uniform, ready to release a white stream of sugar filled creamy goodness. Speaking of sugar, Marik took a mental note to inspect Malik's smoothie for any signs of the stimulating substance.

"Open wide!"

Marik quickly turned one of the bottles towards Malik just as the demon was pressing down on the tips, only achieving in drenching them both in the sweet icing. He then grabbed two more whipped cream cans from the fridge and the two friends engaged in a messy (yet delicious) whipped cream battle, each of them managing to cover the other with the sticky goop. Malik squeaked as he realized that he was out of ammunition, and quickly dodged the oncoming fire of sugared bullets and pounced on a breathless Marik, both of them laughing maniacally at the pure insanity that was taking place. The demon scooped up a wad of whipped cream and smeared it on Marik's already white face, trying to get as much as he could into the taller blonde's mouth. Marik retaliated by flipping the smaller boy onto his back and tickling him fiercely with his cream coated hands.

Malik squealed adorably, rolling from side to side in order to avoid Marik's skilled fingers. He knew every single one of the demon's tender spots and was currently exploiting them for no reason other than to see the boy laugh.

"S-Stop it! I can't breathe!"

"You asked for it! _You_ may have started this battle, but in Ra's name _I_ will finish it!"

"M-Marik! Q-Quit it! I-I-Ahahahahahahahahaha!"

"You'll have to do better than that you _wicked_ little thing!"

"Pl-Please! I can't take it!"

The tickling stopped momentarily, and Malik, blinded by tears looked up into Marik's face, expecting to see the older teen's smug look of accomplishment. But almost as soon as he was able to regain his breath, Marik captured the small blonde into a passionate kiss, thoroughly enjoying how the dessert topping only emphasized the exotic taste present on Malik's lips. The demon was momentarily stunned, enthralled and shocked at how Marik's tongue navigated into all the possible reaches of his mouth, and eventually he kissed back, releasing all the frustration he had been hoarding since the last few moments before his death…

Marik had noticed the boy's inexperience at kissing and easily regained control, turning an already heated gesture into one of maddening lust. A part of him was screaming 'STOP,' but there were so many others screaming 'MORE.' So many years of concealed affection bursting forth in one grandeur moment of pure…pure…

Pure _love_…

While the two blondes were in their own little world, Bakura had bounded up to the room to try and prevent Marik from revealing that he was the one that had allowed Ryou to go with them on Saturday. Sweaty and breathless, the medical student wrenched open the door to find his two roommates engrossed in a fiery display of romance, covered head to toe with a creamy white substance. The unidentified 'goo' was also splattered on the walls, floor, and even on the ceiling, leading Bakura to believe that several years of pent up sexual tension could allow one's…(ahem) to fire at incredible distances. A disturbing thought…but oddly arousing.

Wait…I thought these two were _friends_…

"I _can't wait_ to hear the excuse for this one," Bakura said loudly, placing a sock covered foot onto Marik's back. "Lemme guess…Malik was choking on his own release and you had to help him breathe."

The kiss finally broke and Marik turned angrily to his roommate, face licked clean of all previous messes. "You've got a sick mind, bastard. This stuff's whipped cream. Get your mind out of the gutter!"

"How would that even _work_?" the smaller blonde blinked, unable to get the image out of his head. "Thanks for emotionally scarring me forever Bakura…"

"Well _excuse me princess_," the other student sneered, directing the comment at the blushing Malik, "I thought you two were just friends. Feh! Whatever. You dumb blondes are responsible for this mess and you're going to clean it up! Whether it be whipped cream or whatever…and I do mean 'whatever.' Get to it, chop chop!"

"You think you can boss _me_ around?" The two blondes snapped, displaying their strange habit of seeming to have the same thought as the other.

"Uh, yeah? I'm sick of cleaning up after you two! First paper, then the glass, then-"

"Bakura invited Ryou to come with us on Saturday," Marik barked immediately, causing said teen to turn a deep shade of red.

"What?"

"MARIK!"

"You pushed me to the edge Bakura," the tall blonde said solemnly, "I had no other choice…"

"He was hitting on Marik!" Bakura retorted, hoping to shock Malik enough so he could plan an elaborate escape plan.

Malik quietly stood up and walked to the bathroom with a dazed expression on his face, causing the two remaining teens to trade curious glances. Marik was surprised the boy hadn't conked Bakura on the head, and Bakura was surprised that he was still able to hear. After a few awkward seconds, Malik emerged with a small smile on his face, wiping the last remnants of the whipped cream from his bare arms.

Bakura relaxed at the sight of the blonde's calm face, believing that Marik's kiss had somehow numbed him of any feeling other than joy. They were oblivious to the uncontrolled rage that was currently coursing through Malik's veins. Nothing _ever_ went according to plan. Why wouldn't he just go away? He was always there, wherever Malik went. And now he was trying to muscle in on _his_ Marik?

_Over. My. Dead. Body._

As soon as Bakura's shoulder's eased down, Malik viciously grabbed him by the ear, pinching it fiercely between his delicate fingers. In another swift motion, the demon kneed Bakura between the legs and gave him a harsh slap, causing the poor medical student to bear a painful looking handprint on his cheek.

"Despite my small stature and undeniable beauty (thanks for noticing), _never_ forget that I am fully capable of preventing you from _ever_ having children. Why you decided to invite a preachy little _troll_ who despises my very being to go clubbing with us is beyond my understanding, but I doubt you have the balls to un-invite him. …And even if you did have the balls, I'm sure they'll be out of order for quite a while. Now be a dear and clean this mess up, Marik has to change my bandages."

"But I'm-!" Bakura began, but was silenced by Malik's frightening glare. He had never noticed it before, but the young blonde's pupils were strikingly similar to that of a rabid feline. Was that…natural?

"_Clean it_. Marik, come to the bathroom and undress me."

"With pleasure," Marik said eagerly.

"I meant the bandages _stupid_," Malik huffed, extremely disgruntled.

Bakura cast a loathing glance at the taller blonde who mouthed 'sorry' and disappeared into the bathroom with his little friend _slash_ lover _slash_ dominating snooty bitch _slash_ hot boyfriend. Choosing to room with Marik instead of Yuugi was _really_ beginning to look like a mistake.

* * *

"What do you mean you couldn't get the human to agree?"

"Well Malik's control over his heart seems to have intensified. It's almost as if…as if he really does love-"

"Don't be an idiot Ryou! It's because you spent so much time with that _other_ human. That little wretch's power has grown stronger. Soon his influence will completely overpower-"

"But he doesn't _seem_ evil! He may be a little…explosive, but it's typical for _any_ being around his age. Yami…I know how you feel about demons, but…I really, really believe that that human truly _loves_ Malik."

"So now you're using its name?"

"Yami, I asked the council for the records on his death…and…he…"

"He died in sin, just like everyone else down there. "

"But under _his_ circumstances-"

"Heaven doesn't make mistakes!"

"I never said it did! But Malik's crime isn't _nearly_ as severe as a majority of those who are damned! Yami…I can't do this. He doesn't deserve _any_ of this!"

"He's a demon!"

"Why does that make it okay to cause him pain? To…to destroy his dreams?"

"BECAUSE THEY DON'T DESERVE TO HAVE THEM!"

"Yami you're being unreasonable! You can't honestly compare the death of a seventeen year old boy who rejected the divinity of the Heavens due to _heartache_ with the death of a mass murderer! It's just not the same!"

"He's beginning to affect you. It seems the demon's power is more potent than I thought. You're not thinking straight…"

"I'm thinking perfectly _fine_! It's you who's-"

"What about Bakura? Have you noticed anything different about him? Has the demon's presence tainted him any further? Has he strayed from the right path?"

"Yami, Bakura isn't under the influence of Malik. He's just a little confused…but after I'm finished with teaching him how to make the right choices…he'll finally…be with me… Malik isn't doing anything to him!"

"Are you willing to bet his life on it?"

"I thought so. _Enough_ with this nonsense about that demon's innocence. No matter how severe their sins the fact remains that they weren't good enough to share the skies with us. _We_ are superior. You need to pull Marik away from Malik, it's the only way to ensure Bakura's salvation, and you know that!"

"But…I…_fine_."

"Good. I know it's hard for you, but believe me. Malik had his chance. You're just trying to give Bakura the same thing."

"I suppose…"

"Don't doubt yourself Ryou. You and I both know this is for the best."

* * *

NO, the title is not a typo.

**(1)** When I think of you, my chest begins to hurt,

**(2)** I want to see you right now, but I can't fly through the sky.

**REVIEW! FIVE FOR NEXT CHAPTER!! THE DEMONS RETURN!!**


	8. One Day More

**A Little Fall of Rain**

**Summary**: When the angel Ryou becomes smitten with a mortal who he believes can do no harm, he creates a misunderstanding, resulting in the wrath of the young demon Malik whose unrequited love was never satisfied in life.

**Rated**: T

**Genre**: Supernatural/Romance

**Author's Note:** I really enjoyed writing this (short) chapter. Moderate SetoxMalik, because I love the pairing.

**Disclaimer: **It's not mine, HAPPY?

**One Day More**

"I don't _believe_ this…"

"Problem?" Seto asked, examining the glossy photograph in his hand.

"Why'd you say _yes_?" Jounouchi groaned, running a clawed hand through his messy hair, "The bar's starting to lose customers, we need to spend our time on improving the quality! The last thing we need as is a little newborn flying around the room crying its friggin' head off! Not only that, but we gotta change diapers and read bedtime stories and…and…_watch our language_!"

The taller demon sighed and pocketed the picture, "You seem to be confused. Once again, out of the kindness of my heart, I shall explain the situation to you _slowly_. When Pegasus said, 'I want you to take care of a new baby,' he didn't actually _mean_ a baby. He meant a newly reincarnated soul, or to put it more bluntly, someone who'd just died."

"Then why the hell couldn't he have just said that?"

"Because individuals with an IQ higher than a table cloth's would know what he was talking about."

Jounouchi scoffed. "Whatever. Where's the brat supposed to be anyway? Did he tell you?"

"I thought it'd be more fun to look for him ourselves," the blue-eyed demon smirked, "he shouldn't be too hard to find. Just follow the smell of burnt incense and we should find our new charge. Come on, pick up the pace! We don't want him to get killed before we get a change to say hello!"

"Speak for yourself…"

"Arrgh! That kid!"

Seto looked up to see one of his more frequent customers, Varon, bounding down the streets, searching under tables and even underneath a few skirts in search of something. The two demons walked up to the shorter, trying to stifle a laugh after witnessing him getting slapped by an indignant female, and basically poked him.

"Did you lose something, or are you just trying to find an excuse to rape women with your eyes?" the blonde asked moodily.

"What? No! No, I was just walking over to Ivory and I saw some blonde kid wrapped in nothing but bandages," at this, the short brunette blushed an odd shade of red. "I kind of felt sorry for the guy, so I offered to help him out and the next thing I knew I was up thrown through a brick wall and my damn wallet's gone!"

"Did he look like this?" Seto asked casually, showing Varon the picture Pegasus had given him earlier.

The demon's dark brown eyes narrowed in frustration, "Yeah! That's the guy! Why'd you have his picture, is he a wanted demon or something? Yeah, I bet that's it, Pegasus and his goons want to show him what happens to thieves around these parts!"

"Actually, I'm supposed to care for him until he finds his bearings," the taller brunette sighed tragically, "you see, he's only a few days old and the poor little thing's probably all confused and scared…"

"What? Two days old? But I…he…!"

"You just got beat up by a baby," Jounouchi smiled, showing his fangs, "but don't worry, our lips are sealed."

"However, it'd be wise to drop by the bar every now and again. You know, to make sure we haven't slipped up. Now, do you know what direction the kid flew off to?"

"I think he ran off towards the bar actually," Varon blinked, "he's kind of clumsy, I think you can still catch up to him if…"

The brunette was cut off as the other two demons had left in haste, leaving behind a small pouch of coins.

"You hurry."

Malik pulled on his gloves impatiently, trying his best not to look completely ignorant of his surroundings. If there was one thing the blonde didn't care for, it was being the only one who didn't know what the hell was going on. Speaking of Hell, the lithe blonde was extremely shocked that he had managed to screw up so bad that it cost him a pair of white wings. Why the fates had decided to damn him into an eternity of pain in the fiery pits of the underworld was unknown, but so far, it actually wasn't that bad.

Well the initial surprise of seeing yourself with black wings and claws was rather troublesome, but being the morbid optimist he was, Malik had decided that his new features helped him transition the gap from being just cute to being drop dead sexy. Yes, that would work. Then there was the inconvenience of being covered from the shoulders down in bandages, surrounded by a mob of lecherous old men. Fortunately, the ever resourceful Malik solved that problem by feigning innocence and stealing money from the first sap that tried to help him. He was quite good at that.

With that 'borrowed' money, Malik began to shop for some plain clothes to wear. However, the plain clothes were a bit too conservative for his tastes, so he instead bought a loose black hooded tank top and a pair of black cargoes that came up just short of his belly button. He also slipped some fingerless black gloves into his pocket because for some reason, his palms were extremely sore. While the rest of his unearthly body was relatively irritant free, his delicate hands felt blistered and throbbed with an unseen pain, despite looking perfectly normal.

While trying to ignore the pain, he accidentally bumped into an older, grizzled demon with a bandanna of the American flag around his head. Bowing and muttering a hasty apology Malik moved to step aside, but was grabbed rather forcefully by the other blonde demon. Much to his disgust, the other began to smell him suspiciously, from his light blonde hair to his newly formed wings. After the uncomfortable inspection, he expected that the taller demon would let him go, but instead his gripped tightened.

"You're a newbie."

"What?"

"You don't smell right. You have the scent of burnt incense…which means you're still a _baby_…"

Malik cringed as the other's face came very close to his own, "You're cute. Maybe I should show you around…then we could stop by my place and…get to know each other…"

Lilac eyes narrowed and Malik raised a clawed hand in an attempt to attack, but he was quickly caught by the older demon's free hand.

"Now that wasn't very nice! Let's try this again. I'm Bandit Keith…and you are?"

Malik snarled. "None of your _fucking_ business old man."

"Excuse me? For something so pretty to have _such_ a foul mouth, _tsk_, what is the world coming to?"

The smaller blonde grunted and used all of his strength to pull the other demon's bare arm in front of him. Silently cursing himself for even considering it, Malik licked his dry lips and bit the pale flesh, _hard_, drawing as much copper flavored liquid (blood?) as he possibly could. Bandit Keith howled in pain and wrenched his arm from the rabid demon's mouth, tears forming on the corners of his eyes.

Malik squeaked and spat out the disgusting taste, stumbling backwards into a chain link fence. But before he got a chance to escape, another hand was placed on top of his head, this time belonging to a handsome looking brunette with eyes that resembled chips of ice. Malik opened his mouth to protest, but was quickly scooped into the tall demon's arms and held like a small child.

"Stay calm kid, we're here to help…"

"_Let me go_!"

"I would, but then I'd have to find you all over again. I'll explain everything to you later, but for right now you'll just have to _trust me_."

"Oh gag me with a spoon," Malik spat, baring his fangs dangerously, "now put me down unless you want a piece of your hand missing!"

"It's not my intention to hurt such an attractive, helpless little thing such as yourself, but I won't hesitate if it means shutting you up."

Seto flashed five very sharp looking claws as he said this, hoping that the young demon in his arms would stop talking. Fortunately, he did, and as a reward, the brunette began to stroke Malik's head, as one would a cat. The blonde attempted to resist but eventually allowed his captor to continue holding him as he was. It was degrading, but it was comfortable. Malik looked over his shoulder just in time to witness another blonde demon beating the living (dead, actually) daylights out of Bandit Keith. A small smirk pulled at his lips and he snuggled in warmly between Seto's arms.

"Don't get _too_ comfortable in there kid," Jounouchi said nastily after chasing Keith off, "Seto's already got me as his number one blonde!"

"Oh really?"

"Yeah really!"

"Huh, that's surprising, considering I'm the one being babied while you stand there like a wet dog waiting for its master to toss it a bone."

"You little-"

"Jounouchi, be nice," Seto said exasperatedly, setting Malik down on the street corner and placing a hand on the young demon's wings to ensure he wouldn't escape. "We owe this little guy an explanation. We don't want him thinking we saved his ass out of compassion, now do we?"

"Of course not," the other blonde huffed, looking down on Malik's lithe form. "Now allow us to introduce ourselves. My name's Katsuya Jounouchi; 80 year old demon from New York City. Nice to meetcha kid!"

"And I'm Seto Kaiba, your new keeper."

Malik blinked blankly, "Am I supposed to know what that means?"

"It means that the big guy left you under our care," Jounouchi said smartly, holding a finger up, "which means you gotta listen to _us_ from now on."

"And if I don't?" The smaller blonde said defiantly, raising a golden eyebrow.

"Then we'll turn you over to Keith and you'll be raped from sunrise to sunset," Seto said irritably, picking up the 'child' once more, "now stop being such a baby and marvel at your new home."

"I'll stop being a baby when you stop carrying me like one! I'm seventeen years old, I CAN WALK! And another thing, stop calling me 'kid,' you freakishly tall monsters!"

"Can't help it, you're too _adorable_." The brunette said mockingly, pinching Malik's tan cheek. "I'm sure the bar patrons will think so too. Katsuya, what do you think? If we place the kid as a server, we'll be sure to attract more customers."

"Wait, WHAT?"

"Hey yeah!" Jounouchi said excitedly, "He'll be our new attraction! This is perfect! Who knew taking in a brat would be so profitable!"

"Hey, HEY! Don't I get a say in this?"

"Psh, no," the other blonde scoffed, opening the door to a very empty bar slash restaurant. "This is Ivory, up and running since…well, since Seto started it up! Upstairs are the bedrooms, bathrooms, and I think we've even got a comfy little closet you can sleep in."

Malik growled lightly, only to be squeezed tighter by Seto. "He'll be sleeping with me."

"WHAT?" Both blondes gaped at the taller demon, who merely shrugged and began walking up the stairs with a protesting Malik in tow.

"Is that a problem? Katsuya clean up the bar and tell as many people as you can about our new charge. I can guarantee you we'll have a full house tomorrow."

"PUT ME DOWN RIGHT NOW! _UNGH_! I'M NOT SLEEPING WITH YOU!"

"What? Where're you going! I can't do all that by myself! _SETO_!"

Jounouchi was answered by the quiet click of a closed door. Amber eyes narrowed, glaring hatefully up the empty staircase. What was wrong with Seto? It was unlike him to show _any_ kind of kindness toward _anyone_. It took five years for Jounouchi to even be able to hold a conversation with the enigmatic demon.

'Come on Seto…quit playing around with me…'

* * *

"Your hands are so blistered…"

"Hunh?"

Malik blushed as the blue-eyed demon took both his hands tenderly, inspecting them closely.

"You need something for this. I think I have some crème in by the dresser-"

The small blonde quickly withdrew his hands embarrassedly, "It's nothing. I…I died in a house fire, it's probably just a weird after effect. "

"Kid, I already told you you're safe around me," Seto sighed, "I'm not going to poison you, just let me see them."

The brunette took the boy's hands again and gently rubbed a light pink paste into his tanned skin, watching with light amusement as Malik's expression seemed to relax as he did so.

"Just like mom used to do, right?"

"I wouldn't know," the blonde scoffed, "I didn't know my parents. My big sister Isis was the one who took care of me…and she wasn't exactly mother material if you know what I mean."

Seto noticed the bitterness reflected in the young boy's eyes, and set his hands down on the soft bedding.

"I don't actually, care to elaborate?"

"It was like having a mother minus the love," Malik stated rather bluntly, lying down on the dark covers, "I mean, yeah she disciplined me, fed me, and told me to be nice and all that, but…I dunno. It didn't feel like I thought a mom would feel like."

Seto nodded mutely, understanding where the boy was coming from.

"I had a friend who I'd lived next to for a really long time, and his mom was exactly what I thought a mom should be like. She was really cool, let him spike his hair, let him wear whatever he wanted and everything! But she'd also talk to him like an equal whenever he wanted her to…she never talked to him like he was…"

"A child," the brunette finished, instantly realizing why Malik disliked being referred to as a kid.

"Uh huh…yeah, I think that was it."

Malik played with his fingers idly, now that they didn't hurt so much and sighed briefly.

'Marik…looks like I screwed up big time, huh?'

"Malik, if you'd prefer sleeping in the guest room then by all means go ahead. I wouldn't want you feeling uncomfortable during your first night."

"No thanks," the small demon said coolly, "I like this bed. It's soft and warm and squishy…and it's big enough to share with a giant mutant like you. So I think I'll sleep here from now on, 'kay?"

Seto smiled and ruffled the boy's hair playfully, failing to notice the intense sadness overcome his charge as he did so.

"If you insist."

* * *

Ryou glared.

Malik glared.

Ryou glared back.

Malik glared back.

Ryou glared even harder.

Malik glared even harder.

Ryou glared harder than he had ever glared before, in fact, he glared so hard he felt that if he glared any harder his eyeballs would burst.

Malik responded by slapping the angel's face harshly.

"Oh, you wretched little-!"

"BACK. OFF. _BITCH_!"

"Make me!"

"_Oh I'll make you_," Malik growled, exposing his canines.

"No one's going to make anyone do anything," Bakura barked, pulling Ryou behind him, "this is going to be a safe, happy, alcohol filled night in a raunchy club. No biting, scratching, or spitting allowed, got that Malik?"

"Oh sure, reprimand _me_," the blonde scoffed, "I didn't start anything, it's that little cotton ball cowering behind you that's to blame."

"I was not cowering!" Ryou retorted, turning pink.

"_Malik please_-" Bakura grinded.

"Oh _shut up Bakura_! If I see him anywhere within two feet of Marik, I'm gouging his eyes out!"

"But you're _just friends_," Ryou purred, batting his eyelashes innocently.

"You _slut_-"

"Ah! Do I detect a hint of jealousy? Hmm? You disappoint me Malik; I thought you were supposed to be _perfect_."

"Ha! Don't try to lure me into ripping your throat out; I'm way beyond letting stupid comments like that get to me."

"Right...tell me again why you insist on applying your eyeliner in the dark?"

Bakura sighed and proceeded to drag an enraged Malik away from a very smug looking Ryou, who stuck his tongue out childishly.

"Will you grow up? Quit acting like such a baby!"

"When Marik gets here-"

"Then you'll be his problem, not mine," the medical student said sternly, running a pale hand through even paler hair, "now if you promise to keep a level head, I'll try to keep Ryou out of your way, alright?"

"Ryou has germs on him," Malik breathed, eye twitching, "I saw them, they were all moldy and wormy and deadly, ooh, I think I saw a few strands of Ebola."

Bakura's eyes darted to his bottle of hand sanitizer briefly, but resisted the temptation to cover himself with it.

"Nice try Malik. Now _please_, just-"

"Right, I'll stay out of your hair. You don't need to spell it out for me, I'm not a baby."

"Could've fooled me," Ryou snapped irritably.

"Shut the fuck up!" Malik shot back.

"_Malik_-"

"Right, right, sorry…"

Malik pouted and went into the bathroom, wanting nothing more than to wash his hands. They had mysteriously begun to sting a bit after he had made contact with Ryou's cheek. It didn't exactly hurt, but it was rather annoying. After a minute or so of holding his hands under the running water, he dried them off, took a deep breath, and stepped back into the living room. Marik had finally returned from his trip to the grocery, and was currently placing a very large bottle of wine in the refrigerator. The small blonde blinked and walked in casually, making sure that the light hit his new outfit perfectly.

Marik rolled his eyes at Malik's attempts to discreetly show himself off. The boy was currently sporting a light purple tank top hoodie that came up just short of his belly button, paired with black cargo pants. He resisted the urge to grab the boy and begin make out session number two, what with the endless teasing he had received from Bakura after the whipped cream incident.

"You ready?"

"I was waiting for you," Malik sniffed, thoroughly enjoying how Marik's tight black shirt showed off every single toned muscle in the taller blonde's chest, "You're looking…nice."

"Thanks," Marik blinked, raising an eyebrow. "Now then, what's our plan of attack for tonight?"

"We go to the bar, eat some hot wings and drink until Malik strips for us," Bakura offered, earning a harsh glare from Ryou.

"Ugh, I don't wanna drink all night! Can't we dance?"

"We can do both, can't we?" the angel coughed, "I mean, we're all very responsible young adults here…"

"Yeah, right," Marik said disinterestedly, pulling the smaller blonde closer, "You and Bakura can drink until your livers expire, me and Malik are gonna sex up the dance floor, right kid?"

"R-Right," Malik squeaked, turning pink. "I…I can't wait!"

"Oh please," Ryou glowered, allowing Bakura to place an eager arm around his shoulders, "you'd think that child was raised by a couple of demons."

"Whoa, hold up! Malik may be a bit unruly, but I wouldn't go _that_ far," Bakura laughed, unaware that the boy's words held the truth.

"Malik, later tonight I want to talk to you in private, okay," Marik whispered into the shorter boy's ear, "after the other two have had a few shots come with me outside, okay?"

"Oh…okay," Malik blushed, trying to hide his excitement.

"Cool. Oh, and another thing. _Bakura_, before you say anything, _this isn't a group date_. It's a group _outing_."

Any hopes Malik had of a wedding proposal were promptly shot dead.

* * *

**Five reviews for the next chapter**, in which Malik's life goes hideously out of control.


	9. On My Own

**A Little Fall of Rain**

**Summary**: When the angel Ryou becomes smitten with a mortal who he believes can do no harm, he creates a misunderstanding, resulting in the wrath of the young demon Malik whose unrequited love was never satisfied in life.

**Rated**: T

**Genre**: Supernatural/Romance

**Author's Note:** I shaved off about 2000 words from this story's end, so the next chapter is going to be bam, bam, bam, action. It's all downhill from here. _Or is it?_ And this part has a chunk of Ryou…so to all those Ryou fangirls I've pissed off, this one's for YOU! Whoo!

**Disclaimer: **Yuugiou is not mine, STUPIDS. Just kidding, I love you all.

**On My Own **

"More soup?"

Malik hiccupped, blushing a light shade of pink, "N-No thank you!"

The taller blonde sat back, frowning, "You know if you don't eat anything that nasty flu of yours is never going to go away…"

"I'm just not very hungry right now," Malik said quietly, hugging his knees, "but thanks for coming over. Even though…this wasn't exactly the birthday I was expecting…"

"Whatever, you only turn sixteen once, and what better way to spend it than in bed with your best friend? …I _am_ your best friend, right?" Marik said suspiciously, narrowing his dark eyes.

"Of course! Do you see anyone else on my wall?"

Malik gestured to a large corkboard, upon which were countless pictures of the two boys in various poses. A handful of those images situated them in rather suggestive positions, but thankfully, the overprotective Isis had yet to notice them.

"Just making sure," Marik smirked, setting the bowl of soup aside.

Loud laughter was heard from outside the door, causing the taller of the two blondes to roll his eyes.

"Ugh, your sister laughs like a chipmunk."

"Your mom's out there too you know," Malik smiled, poking the small pink teddy bear Marik had brought him.

"Yeah, but she laughs more like a mouse. You've heard her."

"I find it fascinating that you know so much about how rodents express their happiness," the younger boy said sarcastically. "How does a squirrel sound?"

Marik smirked and ran a hand over Malik's exposed stomach, causing him to giggle. "Like this."

"How about a rabbit?"

Marik repeated the movement, a little harder this time, producing a shriller sound. "Like this."

Malik grinned, meeting Marik's eyes with an equally challenging stare. "And a fox?"

"Not a rodent," the taller blonde said smartly, "but I'm pretty sure they laugh like _this_!"

Marik pounced and pinned the other boy so he was laying on his back before placing his lips around Malik's belly button, blowing on it as a mother would do to tickle her baby. Malik squealed with high-pitched giggles, rolling from side to side in an attempt to escape Marik's wet mouth.

"S-Stop it!"

"And raccoons go like this!" Marik said before blowing another raspberry.

Malik doubled over in painfully enjoyable giggles (as he coughed between fits) and attempted to throw Marik off, only to get another, more powerful dose of Marik's new tickling technique.

"M-Ma-Marik! Quit it! Ahh!"

"Wait I haven't shown you how hamsters sound like!"

The smaller blonde braced himself for another attack when a third voice echoed happily through the small bedroom.

"AW, HOW ADORABLE!"

Both boys looked towards the door to find a very kind looking olive skinned woman standing just in front of a Malik's sister Isis, who had turned a lovely shade of crimson. Malik could already hear the hour-long sermon she was going to give him after Marik and his mother left.

"_MOM_," Marik whined, getting off Malik hastily, "Whatever happened to _knocking_?"

"Well what ever happened to cake and ice cream during someone's birthday?" Isis huffed, nostrils flaring.

"Aww, don't be such a killjoy," the older woman insisted. "I'm sorry for barging in sweetie, but Marik and I need to bring Ankha to the vet's office. I think she swallowed a paperclip…"

"_Ankha_?" Malik snickered, giving the other blonde an odd look.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, she's a dumb cat with a dumb name," Marik sighed. "Can't I stay here mom? Please, please, please, please, please-"

"Well," his mother said, twirling a strand of light brown hair around her index finger, "I don't have any problem with it, so-"

"NO," Isis said sternly, "you've been here since Malik woke up! Let him get some rest so he'll be able to go to school on Monday. I know you're worried, but I _promise_ you he's going to be fine, so _please_ just go with your mother?"

"But _mom_…"

"Marik, it _is_ their house," she whispered apologetically. "I'm sorry for all the trouble Isis, but thank you for your hospitality."

"Sure thing," the younger woman replied, bowing slightly. "You're always welcome in our home Hasina. Your _son_ on the other hand…"

"Don't talk about me like I'm not here," the taller blonde growled.

"Don't talk back to your elders," Isis shot back.

"You're only like twenty-five!"

"So?"

"I'm _seventeen_!"

"Exactly, you're a child!"

"I am not! So stop trying to verbally spank me and quit treating Malik like he's too young to know what the hell sex is!"

"He's my baby brother!"

"But he's _not_ a baby anymore!"

"He is to me!"

"He doesn't need _you_ to protect him when he's got _me_!" Marik snarled.

"If I _ever_ see you that close to my brother again-"

Malik groaned and buried his face into his pillow. Not _this_ argument again…

"Isis, don't you think you're overreacting just a teeny bit," Hasina said sheepishly, "they've known each other for a long time now…and well, um…it's expected that _something_ would have blossomed between them…"

"_MOM_!"

"_HASINA_!"

"_Mrs. Ishtar_," Malik muttered, noticing that his older sister had turned the same color as his eyes.

"Oops, have I said too much?"

Marik glowered. His mother was a sweet woman, but at times a little dense.

"Forget it, I'm leaving. Later Malik." He winked. "Bye _Miss Ishtal_," he said scathingly, making a face that caused her younger brother to giggle.

"Goodbye _Marik_," Isis said, clearly happy to see the back of his head.

* * *

Ryou had taken the group to a rather expensive French Restaurant across the street from the nightclub, insisting that drinking alcohol without anything in one's stomach would lead to disastrous results. Malik protested vehemently, and Marik actually had to carry the demon to his seat, which was unfortunately straight across from Ryou. The two rivals had immediately begun round two of their hateful glaring competition, much to Bakura's amusement and Marik's annoyance.

Dinner was awkward; Ryou was doing all the talking, sneaking in snide observations about his target ("Malik, it's very impolite to have your elbows on the table.") and seemed to be the only one interested in eating, though he shared some of his steak with Bakura, who wolfed it down like it was nothing. Malik on the other hand was very satisfied with his glass of water ("WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T HAVE ANY VEGETARIAN OPTIONS?") and refused to speak while in Ryou's presence. This led to an incredibly irate Marik, who had to suffer through Bakura's mind numbing rant about how unsanitary bathrooms were to doom the planet. The taller blonde had snacked on something before they had left and attempted to worm himself and Malik out of this abysmal dinner date, but to no avail.

Marik sighed heavily and cast a pained glance at Malik, who looked like he was about to drive his fork into someone's nose. The two blondes then glared irritably at the other two boys in their company, who were currently playing a round of tonsil hockey across from them. The smaller of the two was quivering in a giggling fit as Bakura placed very sloppy kisses along his pale neck. Marik and Malik looked at each other again, and rolled their eyes in unison.

"Well, I've had enough," the smaller sighed, tossing his napkin on the table as a sign of defeat. "Marik?"

"Let's go. We'll meet you two there, alright?"

"Aren't you going to stay for dessert?" Ryou asked innocently, trying to pry himself away from Bakura. "I heard the gelato at this place was excellent!"

Sensing an outburst, Marik quickly placed his hand over Malik's mouth and shook his head, "No thanks, dancing on a full stomach could be messy."

"If you guys decide to have a go at the bar save me a seat!"

"Do it your fucking self you lazy bitch," the taller blonde muttered, already annoyed with his roommate.

The two blondes stepped outside into the cool night air; the shorter of the two stretching so hard an audible crack was heard as his bones popped back into place.

"Never again," Malik whined, "_never again_…"

"Hey, at least it's over," Marik sighed, crossing the street besides Malik, "and it could have been a lot worse."

"I 'ate' water, listened to Ryou analyze how I held myself, and had to witness Bakura attempting to reproduce," the demon said darkly, "tell me how that could've been worse."

"I could've left you there," Marik grinned.

Despite his irritation, Malik laughed and continued toward the raunchy looking dance club ahead of them, the smell of sweat, sex, and booze already detectable on the sweet spring breeze. The young blonde wondered what exactly Marik needed to tell him, it seemed so secretive and intimate…but that whole 'this is not a date' comment dashed his hopes of it involving the words, 'I love you.' Still, Marik was putting his hands into his pockets almost obsessively, and seemed to be playing with an unseen object.

'It's either a ring, lint, or the world's flattest teddy bear,' Malik had thought.

"This is it," Marik sighed, gesturing to the neon lights adorning the club entrance, "Title, one of the best night clubs in Domino City. The alcohol's strong, the music's great, and now that you're with me I won't have to hang around Bakura."

"How's the bar?" Malik asked.

"The service is shit. Sometimes they just grab random dancers and stick 'em behind the counter. Guess they're too cheap to get a real bartender. Why? You up for some drinks?"

"Just wondering," the demon smiled, having lived in a tavern for two years, "come on, let's go before the other two…"

Lilac eyes widened. Held in the glass windows of a closed furniture store next to the club was the unmistakable reflection of Seto Kaiba. Malik quickly looked behind him in search of his caretaker, but saw only nameless faces and the bright lights of the restaurant they had just left.

"Malik? What's wrong?"

"I …um, nevermind, it's nothing. Let's go."

Marik paused and looked up, noticing the dark clouds rolling in from the mountains. "Looks like it's going to rain tonight," he said airily, wincing a bit.

"I didn't bring a jacket," Malik said, biting his lip. "And we walked here…"

"Don't worry about it. Worse comes to worse we can always use Ryou's puffy sweatshirt as an umbrella."

"With him still in it of course," the demon said a little too sweetly.

"Naturally," the other snickered.

As the two walked into the dark club, Seto narrowed his eyes. Jounouchi lingered beside him, unsure of what to make of the situation. Obtaining a pearl from Rishid, blackmailing

* * *

 Varon to obtain another… If an angel caught wind of what they were doing, all of them would surely be destroyed. Still, it was nice to be outside again…even if everything had changed.

"The angels will attack tonight," the taller demon said quietly, "there's one in the restaurant behind us…one is already inside the club. Katsuya…Malik's not going to make it to see tomorrow."

The blonde paled. Despite all the resentment he felt towards Malik, in the short while he had observed him, the young demon already seemed much happier than he had ever been. And if Seto was right…

"And we're just going to sit out here and let it happen?" he said fiercely, "Seto, I thought you said we came out here to protect him!"

"We did," Seto replied curtly, "and we will. But…I don't want to ruin his last night with our presence."

"What do you mean?"

"Malik isn't stupid, despite what you think," he added quickly, noticing the blonde's expression. "If he sees us in there then he'll know something's not right."

"So we're not going to do anything?"

"We _can't_ do anything."

* * *

"Bakura?"

"Hm?"

"Umm…" Ryou blushed, watching his date scan through the very expensive wine list. "I was wondering…do you think Malik and Marik really…you know…or is it just one-sided-"

Bakura lowered the menu down immediately, "You're not serious about liking that blonde psycho are you?"

"Oh no," the angel said honestly. "I was just curious. Marik seems to be very dedicated to making sure no one thinks he and Malik are an item. So…I thought maybe Malik was the only one who felt anything…"

"It's definitely mutual," the taller teen clarified, "I told you. Marik's an idiot."

"Hmm." Ryou sighed. Maybe…maybe he shouldn't carry it out tonight…

"But enough about those two," Bakura continued, placing the menu to the side, "I want to know more about you. You're always trying to sneak in some kind of moral advice during our conversations. You trying to say I'm not a good person, or…?"

"Oh no, it's not that," Ryou blushed. "It's…it's habitual. I had a friend who used to do the exact same thing," the angel lied. "I suppose after awhile it does get rather annoying…"

"Just a little." The other smiled. "So, this _friend_. What's his story?"

"Story?" Ryou said nervously, "Um…well…"

Bakura's smile grew a little wider. Sharing a dorm with a psychology student had its perks. He distinctly recalled Marik laughing about how stupid it was when people brought up a non-existent friend in order to excuse themselves from a fault. Or, even stupider, to discuss a problem that they themselves had, but wouldn't admit.

"His name…was…" Mahogany eyes focused on a small bottle by the front desk. "Shoyu."

"Shoyu?" Bakura repeated, "His name was soy sauce?"

"His parents weren't very creative," Ryou coughed. "Anyway he grew up in the mountain region of Hokkaido where it snowed very hard during the fall and winter months, so it was always extremely cold. Every night he and his family would sleep in the same bed in an attempt to get warmer, so naturally they were very close…perhaps even closer than most families were. O-or so he's said," he added hesitantly, seeing the Bakura's eyebrow begin to rise in suspicion. "Um, anyway, when he turned ten his mother died of an unknown illness (though I'm sure the weather was somehow responsible) and he became very depressed, so much so that he ran away from home and stayed for eight years at a local church. During those eight years, he had no contact with his family, never talked to anyone his own age, and…basically didn't have…a life. Um…I suppose. On the eve of his eighteenth birthday, he saw his little sister, Amane, crossing the road in an attempt to visit him. She and him had always been very close, and I can only imagine the pain she felt when he went to live somewhere else… I-it was twilight…and it was snowing…so it would've been impossible for her to see the incoming truck…"

Ryou paused and bit his lip. "He dived in front of it in an attempt to save her but…"

"You couldn't." Bakura finished sympathetically.

"No…I…I mean he…"

The angel's shoulders slumped down in defeat, "She was killed instantly."

'_And I died en route to the hospital.'_

"What about you?" the medical student said softly.

"A few broken bones, bruises…" Ryou said distantly.

"I'm sorry."

"Oh don't be," the other smiled painfully, folding his napkin on the table, "_I'm_ sorry to bog you down with such a depressing story. We should be joining the other two at the club, shouldn't we?"

"I guess," Bakura said, his thoughts still lingering on Ryou's sad tale.

"Please don't think about it too much," Ryou laughed lightly, "It was nearly twenty years ago…"

"But you're only nineteen, aren't you?"

"I meant it _feels_ like it was twenty years ago," he said quickly, "You know…a…a lot of things have happened in my life since then. I find the best way to deal with loss is to accept it and move on."

"Wise words," Bakura muttered.

"Thank you," Ryou blushed.

When the two white haired friends finally did make it to the club, they were greeted by a large crowd of sweaty, intoxicated young adults who looked too out of it to fully register anything anymore. A long bar table caught Bakura's attention, and he immediately tried to shove his way to it, a perturbed Ryou in tow. The space was dark, illuminated by countless neon signs adorning the walls, a strobe light was set to match the beat of the current song. There were hundreds of people, some chatting, some drinking, others trying to score a one-night stand. While Bakura fought his way to the bar, he noticed that a crowd had formed around the dance floor, cheering on a single couple.

"That bastard!" Bakura laughed, changing direction and pulling Ryou along, "Oh my God…I cannot believe this!"

"Well, this is certainly X-Rated," the angel blushed, trying to weave his way between the bodies.

Marik and Malik were grinding so close together Bakura was afraid the smaller would lose his virginity right then and there. Both were drenched in sweat, moving furiously to the fast-paced music, Marik trying to catch Malik's lips after every other beat. Finally, as the music came to a slow end, Malik (who had been in front) turned and wrapped his arms around Marik's neck, Marik placing his around Malik's slim waist. Ryou's eyebrows rose so high they disappeared into his hairline. The two blondes were practically eating each other's faces, much to the delight of Bakura and their audience; it was much more passionate than the whipped cream fiasco, but surprisingly, also much messier. After a good two minutes, the kiss finally broke, Marik being the first to pump his first into the air as the crowd roared. Malik looked rather impatient and quickly began to kiss him again; this one more tender than the last.

"You gotta admit," Bakura grinned, "those two can make _anything_ look sexy."

"It's nice to see Malik isn't shy," Ryou sweatdropped, not knowing what else to say. "Um…I'm going for a drink. Do you want anything?"

"Get me a daiquiri, mango," the other called out, making his way to the dance floor to congratulate the two blondes. "Heavy on the syrup!"

The angel sighed and squeezed his way back to the bar, setting himself down on one of the velvet cushions at the very end. He was by himself, occasionally looking over his shoulder for any sign of his three companions. After making sure he was alone, he addressed the very familiar bartender.

"Yami."

"Ryou, it's about time you got here," the other angel smiled, wiping down a martini glass. "Has the demon's date asked for a drink yet?"

"No," Ryou replied shortly, "and I don't think he will. Yami, I can't do this."

"Getting cold feet are we?"

"If that's what it'll take to make you call this whole thing off, then yes. I may not approve of Malik, I don't like what he's done, and I certainly don't _like_ him as a person…but Yami, I'm starting to think this has less to do with the safety of Marik and Bakura and more with you trying to get back at Seto Kaiba!"

"Whatever would give you that idea?" the older angel cooed.

"Yami _please_…"

"We've gone too far to turn back now. Malik won't get hurt, we're just going to send him back home, where he's supposed to be" Yami explained calmly. "It's for the best Ryou; everyone involved will be better off after we carry it out, including Malik."

"But I can't," Ryou stressed, tears beginning to form in the corners of his eyes, "I can't do this!"

"We've gone over this-"

"And you still won't listen to reason," the white haired angel hissed. "Yami, Malik's done nothing wrong, and I know that the affection between him and Marik is shared. Marik's not bewitched, Malik has no ill intent… He's just heartbroken, that's all… Please Yami…you _need_ to call this off!"

Yami slammed the small glass onto the table so hard that a fine crack appeared on its lip. "Ryou, I think it's sweet that you're trying to wriggle your way out of doing this out of _pity_ for that damned soul. However, it's foolish to endanger the lives of two humans just to see a happy ending come out of this distorted love story. I swear if you don't break the pearl, then I'll make _Marik_ do it. I have everything I need for a short term possession charm-"

"Yami…if you slip that into Marik's drink…Malik will…" Ryou's heart clenched.

"Then save everyone the trouble and shatter the damn pearl like I told you to!"

* * *

**Author's Note:** Well, that went well. WHAT WILL HAPPEN? AHH! **Review please!** **You know my quota.** Oh! By the way, I've got a new chapter fic up, **Fukushu**; co-written with **dolphinabottle** (I just love spelling that, hee). Check it out, it's a must read! …Seriously, read it and review after you've finished reviewing _this_ fic :3


	10. The Attack

**A Little Fall of Rain**

**Summary**: When the angel Ryou becomes smitten with a mortal who he believes can do no harm, he creates a misunderstanding, resulting in the wrath of the young demon Malik whose unrequited love was never satisfied in life.

**Rated**: T

**Genre**: Supernatural/Romance

**Author's Note:** Probably my favorite chapter so far. Oh! I forgot to mention, the name of Marik's mother, Hasina, just means 'good' in Egyptian. I Googled it.

**Useless Fun Fact:** Malik has appeared completely naked in Yuugiou TWICE: Once as a child when Isis began her retelling of the Ishtar Tragedy, and again when Yami Malik delivered the final strike with Ra in his duel versus Bakura (his clothes burn off).

**Disclaimer: **Yuugiou is not mine, STUPIDS. Just kidding, I love you all.

**The Attack**

"Ow!"

Malik placed the stinging finger in his mouth and looked at the young bartender angrily. Their hands had only made contact briefly, and yet he felt a pain similar to when he had touched the porcelain angel. Yami shrugged and set down the boy's drink gingerly, muttering a light apology.

"Sorry, the air is dry in here. Static shock, you know?"

"Whatever," Malik said moodily, now eyeing the drink with suspicion.

"M-Malik?"

The blonde demon ignored him, determined to keep his attention focused on the cherry bobbing up and down in his drink.

Ryou cleared his throat and spoke again in a slightly more authoritative voice. "Malik, I wish to have a few words with you."

Marik smirked and placed a small kiss on Malik's cheek.

The angel flushed and shot an irritated look at Yami, who was only a few feet away. The other cherub raised an eyebrow and motioned to a small bottle filled with pink powder, the Possession Charm he had mentioned earlier. Ryou paled and turned to the other three once more. All four of them were at the bar now, having tired themselves after two hours of dancing, or as Bakura bluntly put it, dry humping. Marik and Malik were engrossed in a muted conversation, the smaller of the two giggling every now and then. Bakura looked like he was about to pass out, four empty glasses scattered in front of him, a fifth in his hand. The club was nearly empty; a few couples were slowly making their way out. Marik thought this strange, as it was only an hour until midnight, and he knew the club to stay full until early morning at times. The smaller angel suspected his 'saintly' companion had something to do with it, but avoided any confrontation.

After several more attempts and failures to get Malik's attention, Ryou put on a determined face and attempted to place his hand on Marik's.

The blonde moved his hand a millisecond before it made contact, a noticeable scowl on his face. Malik's cat-like eyes narrowed. Bakura was still gazing lovingly at his new alcoholic friend.

'Well, at least it got his attention.' The angel thought optimistically.

"Malik?"

"_What_?" Malik said through gritted teeth.

"Can…Can I speak with you outside?"

"_No_."

"Please, it's important-"

"Don't care."

"And it has to do with you personally-"

"Still don't care."

Ryou's eye twitched. Checking to see if Marik was still preoccupied (he was busy poking Bakura with a tiny umbrella), the angel hovered over Malik ear and said in a harsh whisper, "I know you're a demon Malik Ishtar and unless you come out with me I'm going to break that pearl of yours right here and now!"

Lilac eyes widened. Malik's mouth opened, poised for a question, but the blonde decided against it and stood up stiffly, glaring at the flustered angel with undiluted hatred.

"Where're you going?" Marik asked, surprised that Malik was actually complying with Ryou's request.

"Out. I'll be back in a minute." The demon's voice was strained.

"Do you want me to-?"

"No, I'll be fine," Malik said quickly. "Make sure _that guy_ doesn't throw up on my seat."

"Okay," the other blonde trailed off, watching his small companion follow Bakura's date. As the two left, the bartender casually sauntered off to prepare a drink no one asked for. A loud snore was heard and Marik angrily banged a tanned fist against the table, effectively waking his roommate up.

"Who? Wuzzat? Marik?"

"You're a horrible drinker," the blonde said moodily.

"Where'd Malik and Ryou go? …Did they settle their differences and start making out?" At this, Bakura began to look around blearily.

"I dunno what happened. Malik and Ryou are having a talk or something…"

"Sucks that Ryou got to have his 'private conversation' before you did," the medical student snickered. "What're you planning to give him anyway?"

Marik smirked and removed a small velvet box from his pocket.

"Whoa…that's like…pure box," Bakura slurred.

"Yes," the blonde said sarcastically, "and look! There's something inside the box too!"

"Ooh…"

Marik revealed a silver chain necklace with an egg shaped locket. Inside was a scaled down photograph of the two Egyptians posing playfully; the word 'Promise' was etched onto the opposite side.

"Wow! That's even better than the box!" Bakura said incredulously.

"I'd hope so, the engraving was a bitch to pay for." the blonde said grimly. "He's always wearing that weird black pearl…"

"So you're finally throwing all that ugly denial out the window and confessing your undying love and affection for that little bitch, eh?"

"You've managed to put it _so_ eloquently Bakura," Marik scathingly, placing the box back into his pocket.

"Last one before you take off?" Yami said suddenly, handing a drink to the taller teen. "It's on the house, no need to pay."

"I shouldn't…"

"If you don't want it, I'll take it!" Bakura said gleefully.

"You've had enough," the angel sniffed.

Marik looked at the liquid carefully. It was a startling shade of electric green, and it smelled of cheap perfume. However, the blonde was never the kind to pass up a free drink, and he DID only have one glass that night… Slowly, almost hesitantly, he brought it to his lips. After a small sip, he snorted and began coughing violently. The sweetness was overpowering, like an entire roll of Life Savers boiled down and caramelized.

"Whoa, how much sugar did you put in that?"

"Lemme try," Bakura snapped, grabbing the glass and draining it in a quick swig. "Bleh! It's like liquid cotton candy!"

Yami winced. The spiked drink was only intended for Marik…ah well. Pocketing the now empty charm bottle, Yami took the small glass and began washing it thoroughly. The two humans were still making faces over the taste of the drink, but Yami knew that as soon as Ryou returned with Malik, the effects would kick in. Speaking of the other angel…it wasn't that he didn't trust the angel to break the pearl…but…

…Who're we kidding? Ryou? Kill something? Unlikely. The only thing he was good for, the only reason Yami even brought him into his scheme was so that Marik could be pulled away from Malik, and he couldn't even manage to do that properly.

"Sorry about that guys, I guess I'd mistaken the syrup for water."

"But isn't simple syrup kind of…I dunno, THICK?" Marik said incredulously.

"I bet Ryou would've liked that drink," Bakura drawled. "It's sweet…he's sweet… (hic)."

* * *

About fifteen minutes later, Malik stormed in, hands clenched into fists and eyes slightly puffy from having cried. He quickly took his seat next to Marik and fumed quietly. Ryou entered shortly after, a miserable expression on his face. The angel looked to his superior and indiscreetly shook his head, signaling that his attempts to get Malik to 'come quietly' had failed. Yami however nodded slightly and motioned to the two humans, and Ryou was shocked to see not one, but _two_ pairs of blank eyes.

"Wha-?"

"Malik, I was wondering if I could talk to you outside," the possessed Marik said gently, betraying his unfeeling expression, "it's really important."

Malik gulped and looked as his friend timidly, unable to see that the person sitting next to him was hardly Marik. Eventually, he stood up and followed Marik out of the club, shooting another dirty look at Ryou for good measure. Ryou however was still staring, mouth agape, at Yami, who had just slid a very shiny object to the now shadowed Bakura.

"Why _Bakura_?"

"Ryou, it was an accident," the older angel said dismissively, "he gulped down Marik's drink so fast I couldn't stop him. No worries though, it'll all be over soon."

The smaller angel turned bright red, his hands clenched so tight he was beginning to draw blood, "You've been saying that since the beginning of this whole mission. And guess what? IT'S _STILL_ NOT OVER!"

Yami regarded his companion with a sick sense of amusement. "You're shaking Ryou."

"Why? Why are you doing this? Really? This _i_s about Seto, _ISN'T IT_?"

"Ryou," the other scoffed, sending the other human outside with a wave of his hand, "you don't think I'd be that shallow, do you?"

"I do, actually. I'm not having any part in this. Malik's done nothing wrong, _nothing_. I…I talked to him. He's not exactly a saint, and I still think he's a horrible…but…Yami, the connection between himself and Marik is undeniable. I had no sense of animosity towards humans at all! In fact, he spent most of the time yelling at me for 'spying' on him and whatnot. I'm going home. And as soon as I return, I'm telling the council about your activity and you'll be damned to Hell. Maybe you can settle your score with Seto there. But this," Ryou threw his hands up, "this isn't right."

"A bit late for that, don't you think?" A smooth voice said bitterly.

Both angels looked toward the entrance, finding a tall brunette and a scruffy looking blonde lingering in its frame.

"Speak of the devil," Yami muttered distantly.

* * *

Malik looked up, tears running down his face. As soon as they had reached the cool, deserted streets, Marik had hit him so hard across the face that he was actually flung into a nearby wall. The pain was unbearable, but the reality that someone he thought he knew would do such a thing broke his heart. Had Marik been using him all along?

Then their eyes met. The usual warmth in Marik's dark eyes was missing, replaced by blank, soulless orbs. The demon gasped. This wasn't Marik…Marik would never…never hurt him…Lilac eyes shot wide open. He had received a shock when his hand brushed against the bartender's, and Ryou's words echoed hauntingly in his memory.

'_The reason you feel pain whenever your skin makes contact with something that has been blessed is because the body you inhabit now has been crafted by black magic…though human in appearance, the fact remains that you are still a demon, and all the rules still apply…including the inability to touch the divine.'_

Marik's dead eyes regarded him smugly, a sneer disgracing his lips.

"You actually think I'd fall for an ungrateful little bitch like you?" the taller blonde scoffed. "Don't make me _laugh_. The only reason I bothered hanging around all those years was because I knew that eventually you were gonna put out."

Suddenly, Malik felt himself being pulled backwards into Marik's arms, a tanned hand pulling viciously at his long hair. The demon struggled as the face he had loved for so long distorted into a cruel smirk. "And I was right, wasn't I? How about one last kiss before I send you back?"

"SNAP OUT OF IT!" Malik cried, "LEAVE MARIK ALONE!"

Not-Marik huffed and released the struggling blonde's hair, looking at him with narrowed eyes. "You're not going to kiss me goodbye then?" Malik shuddered as his possessed lover ran a wet tongue over his hand. "Alright. Then how about _him_?"

Malik felt a cold hand gripping his shoulder. Turning around, he witnessed Bakura materialize seemingly from nothing, the same dead look apparent in his eyes. The demon whimpered as the pale hand forced his chin upward, so he was face to face with the haunted medical student.

"Ba-Bakura?"

"How pathetic. Your boyfriend was unable to wrangle one last desperate kiss from you? He must be losing his touch."

The small blonde twisted out of Bakura grip and glared at him angrily. "So now what? You've got Marik's dumbass roommate in on your little game too? Two angels _and_ two human just to take down a two-year-old demon, eh? If you ask me, that's what's pathetic." Malik's gaze flitted around for any sign of the angel controlling his two friends. "Too scared to show your ugly face to me or what?"

"Not half as scared as your sister was when you left her to die in that fire," Not-Bakura sneered, savoring the hateful look on the demon's feminine features. "She was screaming for help, wasn't she Malik? She begged, pleaded for you to help her, but you were too encapsulated in your own selfishness to give her a second look, you wanted to save yourself and leave her there to burn."

"Tha-That's not what happened!" Malik panted, fresh tears pouring from his eyes. "I didn't see her! I couldn't hear…I didn't mean…I didn't mean to leave her!"

"Oh, but you did, didn't you?" the pale teen cooed tauntingly, grabbing the smaller boy's hands and leaning in so close Malik started to back away. "You ran through the flames straight up to your room and tried to leave through the window, but then a slab of what used to be your ceiling unfortunately fell and barred your path. And then…" Not-Bakura chuckled, sending shivers up Malik's spine. The other boy hissed into the demon's ear, "And then everything went black, didn't it Malik?"

Malik growled and harshly slapped the angel's new puppet, forgetting for a moment that Bakura's words weren't his own. After the violent assault, the blonde blanched and looked up, a bloody bruise on the other boy's lip.

"Bakura…I…I didn't mean…"

"Heh, just what I'd expect from a little whore like you," Bakura grinned, wiping the blood off his lip and giving it a taste. "For raising an abusive hand against a defenseless human, you have forfeited your rights to wear the Ebony Pearl."

Malik was too stunned by this statement to witness Not-Bakura taking a small knife from his pocket. In a flash, the angel's puppet viciously cut into the demon's leg, right above his knee. Crimson blood spurted from the new wound, snapping Malik out of his daze. The blonde let out a pained cry, and fell to his knees, gripping the injured limb. Bakura sauntered over to the fallen demon, a grin plastered on his face.

"This dagger is a heavenly weapon…which means it can harm those empty shells that pearl creates to house your wretched souls. Does it hurt Malik? Did you miss the ability to feel physical pain?"

Malik bit his lip and whimpered, the stinging gash in his leg continuing to gush blood.

At the same time the knife began to break skin, Marik flinched, a familiar light returning to his eyes. Blinking furiously, the tall blonde held a hand to his forehead, trying to remember how he managed to get outside. The last thing he remembered was Malik returning from his chat with Ryou. In his rush, he spotted Bakura a few feet away from where he stood, holding a bloodied dagger over a broken Malik. Without bothering to understand what had gone on in his memory blank, Marik lunged forward.

* * *

"You poor thing…is your mommy at work? Is that why she couldn't watch you?"

"No," the child sniffed. "I don't have a mommy…she died a long time ago."

"Your father then?"

The blonde shook his head. "He's dead too."

"So who…?"

"My big sister takes care of me…but…she's always at school so…"

Hasina looked into the small boy's teary lilac eyes. They were so similar to her son's. Quietly she wrapped light gauze around his injured knee, taping a bandage around it. "There we go, it's all better now!"

"Thank you…"

The woman smiled sympathetically. She had just returned from the grocery store when she saw the child in a heap in front of their house, his leg covered in blood. Instinctively, she dropped her bags and tended to the five year old, discovering that he had hurt his knee from tripping on the sidewalk, and that he was one of the new neighbors that had moved in a few days earlier. After talking to the blonde a little bit longer, she was able to piece together that he and her sister were orphans; the elder sibling had been left a large sum of money in her father's will and used it to purchase a small house. However, at the young age of fifteen, she still had to attend school, leaving her five-year-old brother alone.

"What time does your big sister get home sweetie?"

"Um…sometimes in the afternoon, sometimes a little later…sometimes she even comes home really late."

Hasina winced. "Do you want to stay here when she's at school from now on? It must be very lonely in that house."

A light blush covered the boy's tanned cheeks. "Um…well…I don't know if my sister-"

"I'll talk to her," she said kindly, leading him to the kitchen, "I'm sure she'll let you stay. Are you hungry? I just bought some fresh fruit."

"Okay…"

Already sitting at the dinner table was another boy, a little taller than the boy Hasina had found. His light blonde hair fell in messy spikes, and his dark eyes narrowed suspiciously at the new arrival. The smaller child narrowed his eyes back.

"Oh Marik! I didn't know you were up."

"The cat jumped on me," he said simply, biting into a large apple. "Who's that?"

Hasina blinked. "Ah! I'm sorry, I didn't ask for your name! Well that was kind of rude of me…Um, but first let me introduce you to my son Marik. He likes…breaking things that don't belong to him."

"That lady had it coming," little Marik said indifferently, taking another chunk out of the apple, "she said I was cute."

He thought he heard the smaller boy snicker a little. The six year old raised a blonde eyebrow. "What's up? You think it's funny?"

"I think _you're_ funny," the other blonde said coolly, "and I like your name too. But mine's ten bazillion better."

"Oh really?" Marik scoffed, "What is it?"

"Malik." The boy grinned.

Marik frowned, clearly unimpressed. "_Great_."

Hasina shot her son a 'be nice' look before disappearing into the laundry room. Still curious, the taller blonde hopped off his stool and inspected the other boy a little more closely. They looked remarkably similar, though Malik had a light tinge of pink mixed in with his white blonde hair and was touch lighter than the bronze colored Marik. Malik's eyes were also a beautiful shade of lavender, while Marik's shone a hazy plum.

"So what are you?"

"Huh?"

"You don't look Japanese."

"Neither do you," Malik said moodily.

"Never said I was," the six year old said cleverly. "I'm Egyptian. You are too, I think."

"You thought right."

Marik smirked. This new kid, whoever he was, knew how to hold his own in a conversation. For once Marik could talk to another person his age without them getting offended and running off crying about hurt feelings.

The smaller boy went to the living room and limped over to a low glass table adorned with picture frames of the mother and her son. Ignoring the fact that Marik was hovering over his shoulder like an oversized gnat, Malik gazed at a photograph that was quite different from the others. For one thing, it held three figures, not two. The addition was a deeply tanned man with a wise face, black hair, and eyes similar to Marik's. He had an arm wrapped around Hasina's shoulder.

Malik blinked. "Is that-?"

"No." Marik said abruptly, anticipating the question. "That guy isn't my dad." The blonde's eyes seemed to shine as he said this. "At least…not anymore."

At the sight of Malik's blank expression, he explained. "He just up and left one day. And mom says he isn't coming back."

"Oh," the younger boy said quietly, unsure how to respond.

"The last thing he said to us before he went was goodbye…" Marik looked up suddenly and placed both hands on Malik's shoulders. "So when you leave today, when you're sister picks you up or whatever…_don't say goodbye_."

"Bu…why?" Malik asked, confused at the strange request.

The other boy looked close to tears. "Because everyone that's ever said 'goodbye' to me has never come back! And…I want you to come back tomorrow…and the day after that…and…and…!"

Marik sighed and dropped his hands. "Listen. Just…just promise me that you'll never say it alright? Promise me that you'll _always_ come back." He held out the smallest digit on his hand and waited for an answer.

For the first time in a long time, Malik smiled. He wrapped his own pinky around Marik's and squeezed.

"I promise Marik."

* * *

"_Die Malik Ishtal!_"

The demon braced himself for the final blow. What would happen when the pearl broke? Would it be as painful as his original death? Worse? Malik heaved a dry sob.

'Please…just let it be quick…'

The blonde heard the sound of ripping fabric and his lilac eyes shot up to see Marik standing in front of him, his jacket serving as a barrier between Malik and the weapon. The dagger had sliced through the black cloth and its point was still hovering dangerously close to Marik's toned stomach.

"Hn! Wore off already huh?" Bakura cackled, removing the dagger slowly. "It's a shame. If you were still unconscious then you wouldn't have to see him disappear…"

Marik stayed silent, glaring at the possessed boy with a murderous glint to his eyes. Malik gasped and began to crawl backwards, being careful not to touch his injured knee to the concrete. The two older teens continued staring at each other, the blonde trying desperately to figure out why Bakura had just tried to stab Malik.

"But I'll be nice." The pale medical student smiled eerily. "I'll just knock you back out. Then you won't have to worry about watching poor Malik's body fade away into nothing."

"Wha-?"

Bakura smashed the dagger's handle into Marik's face so hard Malik thought he heard something crack. At the sight of dark blood streaming from the taller blonde's nose and mouth, the demon tightly shut his eyes and sobbed, feeling the warm liquid dribble down to his face. Marik fell to his knees, spat out the metallic tasting substance and coughed, wiping the remaining blood from his face.

"Oh whoops, guess that didn't work," Bakura smirked. "Oh well, that's what second chances are for, _isn't that right Malik_?"

He cackled; raising the dagger again, he directed the metal end at Marik's face and swung down.

Two shades of purple met and in a mad dash, Malik threw himself over Marik's body, desperately shielding the other blonde's face in a tight embrace. The dagger paused just centimeters from Malik's neck.

Marik opened his eyes and looked up, finding a weeping Malik protecting him fiercely, hugging him so hard he felt he might explode. He was pressed against Malik's chest, the occasional salty tear dripping onto his face. He closed his eyes again, listening to the wracked sobs of the boy he had known for so long. Marik's breath caught in his throat. Something wasn't right. He listened again, trying to figure out what was missing. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open.

…Despite his close proximity to the Malik's heart, he had yet to hear it beat.

Bakura looked dazed, and after a long silence, the bloody dagger fell from his limp hand and clinked ominously on the sidewalk. The once glazed eyes flickered back to life.

Malik let out a shuddering breath and released Marik, placing a hand on his chest. He had never felt anyone's heart beat so fast. "I'm sorry…"

"What the hell is going on?" The taller blonde murmured tiredly.

Bakura groaned and held a hand to his head, shaking it a few times before reopening his mahogany eyes. "Oh God…how…how the hell did I get out here? And what the hell happened to you two?"

"You bas-" Marik began angrily, but Malik held him back, eyes shadowed by his layered bangs. "It's not his fault Marik…there's something…there's something I need to tell you…"

"Me first," a new voice said.

The three teens looked up to see a tall, handsome brunette with icy blue eyes standing in front of them, an unconscious Yami at his feet.

"That's the bartender!" Bakura screamed in surprise, eyeing the demon with a fearful look.

"Malik, are you okay?" Seto said quickly, as the angel had begun to stir. Both Marik and Bakura looked at the quivering blonde, wondering the same thing. Hesitantly, Malik nodded and moved to stand, but the gash on his leg still stung badly, and he fell into Marik's waiting arms.

"Malik, who's-?"

"We'll explain later," the tall demon barked impatiently as Jounouchi came into view, sweating. "Did you find the other one?"

"Couldn't catch him," Jounouchi panted, "too fast…"

Seto growled. "Take Malik and the other two somewhere away from here, I don't care where. You," he looked at Marik, "are you alright carrying him?"

"Yeah I can manage."

"Who _are_ you two? And what the heck did you do to the bartender?" Bakura asked, unsure of whether this was a good idea.

"We'll answer questions later, we have to go!" Jounouchi insisted, already beginning to run.

Marik glanced at Malik, who gave a reassuring nod. At that, the two blondes followed the third swiftly (Malik sort of hop skipping along) with a confused Bakura trailing behind.

* * *

**Three chapters left! Don't let me down by not reviewing!**


	11. A Little Fall of Rain

**A Little Fall of Rain**

**Summary:** When the angel Ryou becomes smitten with a mortal who he believes can do no harm, he creates a misunderstanding, resulting in the wrath of the young demon Malik whose unrequited love was never satisfied in life.

**Rated:** T

**Genre:** Supernatural/Romance

**Author's Note:** Um…enjoy?

**Disclaimer: **Yuugiou is not mine, STUPIDS. Just kidding, I love you all.

--

**A Little Fall of Rain**

"Can't you people run any faster?" Jounouchi panted, looking over his shoulder. The smaller demon caught up to him, not wanting Bakura or Marik to overhear their conversation.

"You don't even know where you're going, do you half wit?" Malik hissed, still trying to ignore the deep cut in his leg. "We've been running to nowhere!"

"That's the point! If we ran _somewhere_ then the angels would find us even quicker!"

"_What_?"

"Just shut up and keep running!"

Malik pouted and slowed down to meet up with Marik, who was still looking incredibly angry.

"What's wrong?" Malik cooed.

"Apart from me not knowing what the hell is going on, and the heavy downpour," Marik looked over his shoulder. "That murdering bastard's pretending like nothing happened."

The young blonde blanched. "Ah! I told you not to worry about it!"

"Malik, you almost got-!"

"I know, I know…but…Ooh, I'll tell you later, okay?"

"You planning on telling me how those two guys know you as well?" Marik said, smirking.

"It had nothing to do with sex, if that's what you're thinking!" Malik blushed angrily.

Bakura was feeling quite lonely and confused running all by himself, and the sudden rush of rain wasn't helping him feel any better. "I'm going to get _so_ sick after this! I'll get pneumonia…or frostbite! Ooh, then they'll have to amputate my arms and I won't be able to practice medicine! Though, maybe that's a good thing…"

"Man, I wish he'd shut up," Marik grumbled, tired of listening to his roommate talk to himself. "Hey…Malik, do you want my jacket? You're soaking wet!"

"Aw, a little bit of rain never hurt anyone!"

There was a sudden crash of thunder as soon as Malik had finished talking.

"Eh…lightning on the other hand…"

"PAY ATTENTION!" The older demon screeched.

Jounouchi turned sharply into a deserted alleyway and collapsed onto the ground, completely out of breath. The other three boys followed him, dripping wet and exhausted. Malik looked the worst out of all of them, with blood still oozing from his wound and goose bumps covering every inch of exposed skin. Marik led him over to a dry area beside a pile of boxes, holding him close.

"We'll…we'll rest here…just for a bit…" Jounouchi gasped, closing his eyes wearily.

"But…it's _dirty_," Bakura said apprehensively, eyes darting to the foul smelling trashcans. Just then, another loud clap of thunder echoed through the sky, prompting the white haired student to scramble to the closest possible shelter…which unfortunately was next to a pile of rotting fruit. "Worst…night…_ever_."

"You sure you're okay?" Marik said concernedly, covering Malik with his torn jacket. The demon looked miserably at the ragged tear and leaned on the other blonde's shoulder, closing his eyes.

"I'll be fine."

"I can't believe Bakura would do something like that," Marik continued, voice shaking with rage. "I don't know if it was all the drinks or… but he seemed like he knew exactly what he was doing!"

Malik opened his eyes slowly, seeing Marik's blazing dangerously. "Listen, please don't be angry at Bakura, it wasn't his fault…"

"But he almost killed you! He almost killed _me_!"

"I know but…ooh, Marik," the demon looked like he was about to cry. "I…I'm…" The blonde sighed, not knowing how to begin.

"You're…?" Marik offered, hoping the words 'really a girl' didn't follow.

"He's dead," Jounouchi finished, not opening his eyes.

"Shut the fuck up," the taller blonde snapped.

"It's true. He's dead and his soul is damned to hell. Just like me and just like the guy I was with. We're all dead, all of us. And we're all damned. We're demons. Bloodthirsty, heartless demons." Jounouchi said bitterly.

Marik raised a flaxen eyebrow. "Why…why would you say something like that?"

"Because it's true!" the blonde spat, looking angrily at the smaller demon. "Malik here's too much of a baby to admit it!"

"Stop treating me like a child!" Malik snapped. "You! You have no right to tell them anything, you don't care about them! You don't even know them!"

"Well it's not like _you_ were going to tell them anytime soon! Malik, all the cards have been shown, it's impossible to hide it anymore!"

"You're wrong," the small demon whimpered, lip trembling. "I can still…" He gripped Marik's hand tighter. "_We_ can still…"

"So wait, wait, wait, let me get this straight," the other student cut in, shaking his head. "You're trying to tell us that you, Malik, and that tall guy that knocked out the bartender are really demons who've somehow taken human form?" Bakura asked, looking closely at Malik. "So…that necklace that all of you wear…I remember seeing Malik's glow one time while he was sleeping. What does it…?"

The tallest blonde shot a dirty glance at his agoraphobic roommate. "_Please_ do not tell me you believe this shit."

"Well I'm just saying…"

Marik began to laugh hysterically; water drenched spikes drooping slightly. Almost possessively, he drew the small blonde closer and squeezed him hard, as if trying to make sure that he was solid. Malik shifted uncomfortably, trying to avoid the disgusted look Jounouchi was giving him. Lilac eyes scanned the littered sidewalk, resting finally on a shard of glass. With some difficulty, he managed to wriggle out of Marik's bear hug without the other blonde noticing.

"I have no idea what you two drank, but this little inside joke of yours is getting _really_ annoying," Marik sneered, still giggling between breaths. "There's no such thing as demons, those necklaces don't mean anything, none of you are dead, and even it all were true," the psychology student raised his head, a murderous glint in his eyes. "MALIK WOULD NOT HAVE GONE TO HELL!"

The last part was screamed so loud, even Jounouchi flinched a little.

Bakura cowered, "I never said I believed-"

"You never said you _didn't_ either," Marik snarled. "I can't believe this. You almost kill him and now you start spouting bullshit about demons and Hell!"

"You tried to kill him too, you loudmouth," Jounouchi retorted in Bakura's defense.

Marik looked absolutely insulted. "What? I'd never!"

"Yeah? Well you tell me why that bruise on his cheek is in the _exact_ shape of your right fist."

"_I didn't hurt him_," the other blonde growled dangerously. "Don't you _ever_ accuse me of–"

"I can accuse you of whatever the damn hell I please!" Jounouchi barked.

"Who the fuck _are you_ anyway?"

"That doesn't matter! Even if I told you, you wouldn't believe me, because according to you, I don't exist!"

"Not that demon shit again…"

"Marik!"

The three boys looked up, seeing Malik holding a jagged bottleneck to his wrist. Marik screamed in protest, but the small demon had already jammed the sharp edge into his damp wrist. Bakura stood up quickly, trying to find something that he could pressure the cut with. However, Jounouchi remained on the ground, smiling grimly at the sight of Marik's horrified expression. Despite the large portion of glass that lay embedded into Malik's arm, there was no blood.

"Jounouchi was telling the truth." The small demon said quietly, removing the remaining pieces. Malik looked at Marik and shrugged almost sheepishly, his eyes beginning to sting with tears. "I'm dead."

"But…your leg!" Marik insisted, looking at the still weeping cut.

"The bartender…and Ryou are both angels," Malik explained, glancing at Bakura. "That knife that Bakura was wielding earlier, while he was being controlled against his will by one of them, was blessed… Demons are… _I'm_ powerless against holy items."

"These pearls allow us to walk amongst you humans for a whole year," Jounouchi continued, sitting up and holding up his own. "If they're shattered prematurely then we 'die' again and return to Hell. However, if we fail to break them ourselves before the time limit ends, we're cursed to remain in purgatory. That tall guy, Seto, he gave Malik his own pearl so that the kid could say goodbye to you." He nodded toward Marik, who looked very pale. "A couple of angels got wind of that and told Seto that it was against the rules or something. So now-"

"They're after Malik so they can break it," Bakura finished, still stunned.

"You're lying," Marik breathed, refusing to look away from Malik's arm. "You can't be dead. You're…you're only…"

"It happened when I was seventeen," the small blonde said, looking away. "I've been dead for two years. There was a fire and-"

"Those burns on your back…" Bakura muttered.

"A long time ago, when we first met, you made me promise that no matter what, I'd always come back. So…" Malik shrugged again. "I came back."

"You can't be dead," Marik repeated, pulling Malik closer, searching his eyes. "YOU CAN'T! I WON'T BELIEVE IT! I…I…" He hesitated, a look of realization dawning on his face. "You…you didn't have a heartbeat…"

"I'm sorry," Malik whispered, jewel-like tears falling from his eyelashes. "I'm sorry I didn't answer your letters. I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I'm sorry that I screwed up enough to get sent to hell. Everything's my fault, everything. If I hadn't been so selfish, then maybe I'd still be…"

There was a burst of light, and the next thing Malik saw was a pure white arrow embedded into Jounouchi's chest, his amber eyes widening in surprise. Bakura yelped and darted behind Marik, who held Malik protectively from the shadowed figure at the end of the alley.

"J-JOUNOUCHI!"

"_Ryou_?" Bakura said incredulously, seeing his breathless date still holding the quivering bow. The angel withdrew another arrow and loaded his weapon. There was a small quiver of ammunition tied to his waist, courtesy of Yami.

"Let go of him Marik," Ryou commanded, aiming squarely at Malik. "All this madness needs to stop!"

"_What is wrong with you_?" Malik cried, eyes blazing. "You're part of the problem you asshole! I told you all I wanted was Marik, and you still won't _LEAVE ME ALONE_!"

"Be quiet! Your caretaker is currently fighting Yami; if he loses, he'll be sent to our Council for a reevaluation…you may even be seeing him sometime soon. There's no doubt in my mind that he'll be damned…not to say that he isn't deserving of it," Ryou said quietly. "However, as long as _you're_ still here the angels will hunt you _and_ these humans, no matter how long your pearl stays intact! If you let me release you, then you'll spare Marik and Bakura from-"

"Oh you've _got_ to be kidding," Malik scoffed, standing up. "Don't act like you're doing me a favor! You just want to protect _Bakura_!" He pointed an accusing figure at the shocked medical student. "You don't care about Marik's safety at all! You're no better than Yami!"

"Don't compare _me_ to that horrible…!"

"THEN STOP TRYING TO TAKE ME AWAY FROM MARIK!"

"Weren't you babbling on earlier about how your selfishness damned you?" Ryou huffed. "I _know_ how you died Malik! You didn't hear your sister's cries because you were too busy trying to salvage Marik's letters from the fire! Every time the mail would arrive, she'd pick out his letters and keep them from you in her upstairs bedroom, right?"

Malik blushed. "That's…"

Marik narrowed his eyes. "Isis was keeping my letters?"

"She hated you, you know that," the smaller blonde said, looking at him dully. "The whole reason we moved was so that I wouldn't be around you anymore. You were a bad influence on me."

"You're kidding!"

"I wish I was," Malik smiled sadly.

"What a bitch! God," Marik ran a hand through his wet hair. He paused as a morbid thought entered his brain. Was it possible that he too had indirectly caused Malik's death?

"You harbor such strong resentment toward your sister that I doubt you would've helped her even if you _did_ hear her screaming," Ryou said grimly.

"Please don't start lecturing me about how siblings should always stick together," the young demon growled, rolling his eyes. "Just because _you_ died trying to save your sister-"

"Why haven't you returned to the underworld?" The angel gasped suddenly, realizing the other demon was still there.

The blonde grimaced, but managed to smile grimly, removing the arrow. There was a tinkle of glass as Jounouchi slowly revealed the All-Seeing Mirror that the three demons had stolen from Heaven; the arrow had hit _it_ instead of him. The once pristine surface was now cracked, pieces slowly breaking off in large chunks. A brilliant white light was emanating from the shattered object.

"Oh…oh no…!" Ryou's face drained of color. "DON'T-!"

"Malik, I'm really sorry for this," Jounouchi yelled, throwing the shining mirror into the air. All five figures were bathed in the warm light; though the demons were partially blinded by its brilliance, Ryou was able to watch it in horror.

"What are you…?" Malik began, but suddenly, he shrieked in pain, hugging himself tightly. There was an intense, burning pain between his shoulder blades; it literally felt like there was something ripping through his skin. In moments, a large pair of black feathered wings erupted from the blonde's back, ripping the fabric of his shirt, dripping wet with rain. His nails sharpened into dark claws, pupils contracting into more defined slits, resembling a cat's. Jounouchi was going through a similar transformation, though his expression was much more controlled. Ryou whimpered as two dovelike wings sprouted from his back, his overall appearance becoming more celestial.

"The mirror reveals all," the angel gasped, shivering in the cold. "Its light pierces through _any_ shell, even those created by the Ebony Pearl…"

"The shells may be gone, but as long as the pearls are whole, then we still have free access to this world," Jounouchi sneered. "How you doing over there kid?"

"I'm telling Seto on you," Malik pouted.

Marik and Bakura stood back, wide eyed and amazed at the three ethereal beings before them. Marik was especially interested in Malik's makeover (obviously) and despite the freezing rain pounding into his already numb skin, the tanned blonde allowed himself a noticeably insane smile. Bakura on the other hand was positively horrified.

"Holy shit…_and_ unholy shit! What the heck have we gotten ourselves mixed up in! Hey!" He elbowed the gaping Marik irritably. "Do _NOT_ tell me you're getting a hard on at a time like this! Don't you remember? MALIK'S DEAD!"

"But he's never looked hotter," Marik purred, eyeing the demon appreciatively. "Just think of how awesome kissing him will be now that he has _fangs_…"

"I would, but then you'd probably stick me in one of those trash cans."

"Damn straight."

"I cannot believe we're even having this conversation," Bakura said blankly.

Malik blushed bright red and lowered his wings embarrassedly. "So! …Um…see, this is really awkward…"

"So…you really are dead then," Marik said, a sad smile on his face. "But…hey, at least you're leg's all better."

"Marik…I…I'll always…"

Marik cut him off by practically suffocating the blonde in a fierce kiss. The young demon stood wide-eyed for a moment but then returned the gesture, noticing with slight irritation that Marik's tongue was paying special attention to his teeth. Bakura rolled his eyes impatiently.

"This whole '_love transcends death_' moment is very sweet, but I _really_ don't think this is the time…"

"Why don't you go try and take away Ryou's virginity?" Marik grumbled.

"Because he's too busy trying to kill the other blonde crow," Bakura seethed. "The two of them took off into the storm clouds while you guys were eating each other's faces."

"Ah! I should really go help Jounouchi!" Malik squealed. Before taking flight, he hesitated and turned to Marik, his lilac eyes glittering softly. "If…if this is the last time I see you…just know…that even if you find someone else someday…I'll always be there for you."

A gentle kiss.

"Malik, you know I'd never–"

"Don't let me hold you back," Malik whispered.

There was a crash of thunder and after one last look at Marik, the blonde demon left.

Marik watched Malik until he was a mere dot in the swirling clouds above. Bakura laid a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, at least you got all that suppressed emotion off your chest, right?"

"I never told him that I loved him…"

"Trust me Ishtar; I'm pretty sure he knows."

"But…I was hiding it so well!"

"Yeah…you keep telling yourself that," Bakura smirked. "Anyway, do you think Ryou was just leading me on to get to Malik? I really thought we had something going on there…"

"You still like that brat even after what he did…what he's _doing_ to Malik?"

"Hey, what can I say? He gave me an _enlightening_ experience," he laughed. "If anything, it makes me even more determined to make something out of myself. Getting into heaven can't be _that_ hard, right? I'm sure once I find the cure to cancer, I'll be a shoe in. You've got it easy," Bakura continued, flashing a toothy grin. "I'm pretty sure suicide is a heavy sin."

Marik sighed heavily and leaned against the wall, still looking into the sky, hands jammed into his pockets.

"When I found out that Malik really was dead, that was the first thought that crossed my mind. But after what he said, I realized that he wants me to move on, even if _he_ never does. Problem is, I don't think I can. Not after all this. He's too… Oh shit! I…I forgot to…!"

"What's wrong?"

Marik removed a black velvet box from his pocket.

--

Seto ran through the desolate streets quickly, his blue eyes scanning the passing buildings for any sign of Malik or Jounouchi. Cold rain fell mercilessly on his pale skin, each icy drop seeming to prick like hundreds of needles; stinging like acid when they landed on the bleeding cut on his forehead given to him by Yami. Finally, he came across two humans in a deserted alley; a white haired teen standing concernedly over a tall blonde sitting with his head in his hands. Seto skidded to a stop and walked into the narrow space cautiously, still looking for the other two demons.

"What do you want?" Bakura said suspiciously.

"My name is Seto Kaiba; I'm Malik's…uh…"

"Listen, we already know what you all are," the medical student scoffed. "The stupid one already told us what's been going on, so just skip the story, alright?"

Seto frowned. "If you wish. Where are they?"

"Up there," Bakura coughed, looking up. "Ryou came over here and tried to break that pearl thing on Malik's neck, but then that other demon took out some kind of mirror and they all grew wings and took off into the clouds."

"They _what_?"

"I guess they're fighting. You're the third demon right? What did you do to that bartender angel guy?"

"I took care of him, nothing to worry about," Seto said dismissively, kneeling down to inspect one of the mirror's broken shards. "How long ago did this happen?"

"About fifteen minutes ago," Bakura guessed.

"And no one's come down yet?"

"Not that we know of. Well, not that _I_ know of. Marik here's been crying his eyes out ever since he realized he never gave Malik that necklace he bought for him a few days ago. Sucks, right?"

Seto remained silent, looking over at the blonde who had been shedding quiet tears. This was the man Malik had risked everything just to see. This was the man who Malik thought about all his time in Hell. This was the man who's love Malik died for. Azure eyes narrowed. Was he _worth_ the affection of his precious charge?

"Do you have faith in him?" The demon said finally.

Marik looked up slowly, eyes red from crying. "What?"

"Do you believe that he can overpower the angel he's battling?"

The blonde blinked, tears still streaming from his dark eyes. "Of course…of course I do…"

"Then stop acting like that was the last time you were going to see him!" Seto snapped, startling both students. "If you really believe that he can make it out of there, then stop crying over what has yet to come! Malik is strong, stronger that you think. He died for you, did you know that? He died for shreds of paper that you had written on, what does that tell you? The boy loves you, so the least you can do is have a little faith in him!"

Marik gazed closely into Seto's blazing eyes. Was there…a shard of _love_ for Malik within those cold orbs? He looked at the silver necklace in his hands, the closed locket glinting slightly in the moonlight. With a sudden rush of determination, he squeezed it tightly and stood up. The demon was right. He'd have a chance to give Malik his gift…

"Thanks."

Seto let out a 'hmph' and looked away. It wasn't just Malik he was worried about. He felt like saying a few choice words to Jounouchi as well.

"I think I see something!" Bakura said suddenly, squinting at the sky. Seto and Marik looked up hopefully.

Two figures, one small and one unusually large, were coming down at an incredible speed. Realizing that they were in the way of their landing, Seto hurriedly ushered the two humans underneath a wooden overhang. Marik resisted at first, but was forcefully shoved by an impatient Bakura. The smaller figure landed first, crashing onto the damp sidewalk with a sickening thud.

It didn't move.

Concerned, Marik moved again to investigate, but was halted by Seto. Violent screams were heard as the other form descended, bringing down a rain of black and white feathers. The single figure was actually two; Ryou had hit the ground first, with a raging blonde demon slashing furiously at his exposed chest, crimson blood spattering on the ground. Marik paled and rushed to the first figure, dropping the necklace in his haste.

"YOU BASTARD!" The blonde screamed, tears pouring from his eyes as he raised his bloody claws to strike again. "HOW COULD YOU? HE DIDN'T DESERVE ANY OF THIS!"

Ryou coughed and inhaled sharply, attempting to kick the raging hell spawn off of him. "It needed to be done…I had to…I'm sorry you had to see it Jounouchi…"

"I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ANYTHING OUT OF YOUR MOUTH YOU LITTLE BITCH!"

"JOUNOUCHI STOP!" Seto barked sharply, managing to pin the demon's arms behind his back.

"LET ME GO SETO! I'LL KILL HIM FOR BREAKING IT! I'LL KILL HIM FOR BREAKING MALIK'S PEARL!"

Seto froze.

Bakura rushed to where Marik had stopped, the scene before him causing his own eyes to water. The young demon's lilac eyes were beginning to glaze over, his wings fell limply at his side; black feathers scattered haphazardly around the concrete. Besides a long, thin scratch across his left eye, there was a large wound on Malik's neck, possibly from misfired arrows. Approaching the two blondes slowly, Bakura saw that Malik's pearl was almost completely split in two. A single move could cause it to fall apart. Marik cradled Malik's still form protectively, salty tears beginning to fall once more.

"I'm sorry…" He whispered.

Despite his agony, Malik shook his head slightly and smiled, reaching out to touch Marik's face. The gesture was simple, but it caused the taller blonde's heart to clench painfully. Was this really…goodbye? He placed his hand on top of the one Malik had on his cheek, caressing it affectionately.

"Leave us," Seto said darkly, giving the angel the iciest glare Jounouchi had ever seen.

"You managed to defeat Yami," Ryou breathed, his injuries completely healed. "I thank you. Perhaps…you'll be able to settle your grudge without dragging anymore people into your feud. Goodbye…hopefully this is the last we'll see of each other."

"If we ever meet again it'll be too soon," the brunette replied.

The angel bowed and looked toward the two humans. He caught Bakura's eyes for a moment, and the student, soaking wet from the downpour, managed to give him a nod. Ryou smiled slightly and took off; not once looking back.

"I tried," Jounouchi panted, leaning against Seto miserably. "The kid was doing great on his own! But then he was startled by some lightning and that damn angel managed to hit both his wings…"

"I don't blame _you_," Seto said sternly, water dripping from his bangs. "Jounouchi…I know that I've been less than pleasant to you since Malik's been with us…and I'm sorry. If…if I made you feel inadequate in an way…"

Jounouchi laughed. "Forget about it, you don't need to say anything. I know you still care about me you asshole. And…I guess I can see what makes Malik worth caring about too. He took a lot of hits for me up there, with no hesitation. That…that takes guts."

Marik and Malik remained together in silence, merely enjoying one another's company. The demon's eyes seemed to be struggling to remain open, but he was determined that Marik's face be the last thing he saw on earth.

A few paces back, Bakura witnessed a sorrowful scene unfold.

A single drop of rain fell squarely on the crack of the Ebony Pearl that lay on Malik's chest, causing its pieces to separate instantly. The small blonde made no noise as his body began to fade away in wisps of smoke, his eyes remaining focused on Marik. The taller blonde watched numbly as his love slowly disappeared, the warm hand on his cheek vanishing into thin air. In a matter of seconds, Malik could barely be seen; his scarred left eye the only thing remaining. The boy's soft voice echoed hauntingly through Marik's mind.

"…Bye…"

--

**I hope that was sad enough… Only two more chapters! Keep the reviews coming! What could possibly happen now that Malik's gone? Well, you'll find out soon enough. **

**Oh! And if you haven't already, check out **_**Fukushu**_**, a joint fic I'm writing with dolphinabottle. And, after this story comes to a close, watch out for my rewrite of **_**Hidden Intentions**_**, a SetoMalik fic. The tentative title is **_**Hourglass**_


	12. Empty Chairs at Empty Tables

**A Little Fall of Rain**

**Summary:** When the angel Ryou becomes smitten with a mortal who he believes can do no harm, he creates a misunderstanding, resulting in the wrath of the young demon Malik whose unrequited love was never satisfied in life.

**Rated:** T

**Genre:** Supernatural/Romance

**Author's Note:** And the story continues…

**Disclaimer: **Yuugiou is not mine, STUPIDS. Just kidding, I love you all. Lyrics are from Gravitations' Blind Game Again, sung by Kotani Kinya.

**Empty Chairs at Empty Tables**

Three long months had passed since Malik and Marik had parted for the second and last time. The two older demons that had tried to protect him broke both their own pearls shortly after the small blonde had disappeared, the taller giving Marik a firm handshake before departing. After the dead had left, Marik spent a fair amount of time searching for Malik's broken necklace, succeeding in finding the half that was still attached to the chain. He now wore it religiously, as its original wearer had done. In the rough weeks that followed their separation, Bakura had been victim to Marik's violent mood swings, often involving an hour or so of self-loathing followed by two hours of carelessly breaking anything and _everything_ in sight. They had replaced closet doors twice already.

The blonde had only recently calmed down, a flood of homework assignments effectively distracting him from any inner turmoil. When he wasn't doing homework, Marik spent hours at a time resting on Malik's favorite beanbag chair, which was positioned near the window. He would often wonder what the small boy had been thinking about while curled up there, earphones in place and strawberry smoothie at his side. He found himself wishing he had spent more time with Malik during his brief stay, returning once again to his suffocating pit of mourning. He knew Malik wanted him to move on, wanted him to forget about what they almost had and enjoy the rest of his life. But Marik knew he couldn't.

It was now late December, a few days before a long awaited Christmas morning. The cold rain that had fallen so ruthlessly many nights ago had slowly given way to a heavy blanket of snow which covered the college campus in a beautiful sheet of white. Students were currently enjoying their two weeks of winter vacation, most of them returning home to their families. Marik and Bakura voluntarily stayed behind, the former knowing that his mother already had plans. After being abandoned by Marik's biological father seventeen years ago, Hasina had finally started dating again.

Bakura on the other hand stayed in order to keep an eye on Marik, spending a long afternoon on the phone trying to convince his parents that he'd be okay. Despite the blonde's constant denials, the medical student knew that the thought of suicide still rested prominently on Marik's mind. Marik, being the devoted psychology student he was, knew what Bakura was up to, but didn't confront him about the issue. It was comforting to know that someone other than his mother cared about his well-being; Bakura's concern wasn't nearly as warm as Malik's, but it was _something_.

Today was a particularly miserable looking morning; grey clouds embraced the sky as cold winds blew through the mostly deserted dormitories. Icicles hung from the windowsill, looking like intricate springs of spun glass, growing larger as the pure white snow continued to fall. Bakura was asleep, wrapped inside three blankets; one fleece, two wool. He was never particularly fond of the cold, his germ phobia increasing tenfold at the mere thought of frostbite or even the common flu. Because of this, the teen usually stayed indoors as much as he could, preferring to watch TV with a warm cup of cocoa over participating in a mucky snowball fight any day. Bakura's comfortable realm of slumbering darkness was interrupted when a bright light penetrated through his closed eyelids, causing him to flip grumpily onto his other side.

"Bakura!" A low voice whispered. Said teen opened his mahogany eyes blearily, searching for the large wall clock that lay opposite his bed.

"Quit it Marik," he groaned sleepily, pulling blue pillows over his face. "It's six in the morning, go back to sleep…"

Marik frowned, and hopped down to the floor, flashlight still in hand. Looking back at the lump that was Bakura, he sauntered over to their new stereo and set the dial on the loudest possible volume. The blonde smirked, deciding to allow Bakura one last chance.

"_Ba-Ku-Ra!_"

When no response was heard, Marik casually pressed the 'Power' button.

'**NAGARERU NAMIDA  
****HABIKORU USO NI  
****JIBUN O SOMETE YUME O NISU  
****SORA NI MAU, HAIIRO NO JOUNETSU!'**

Bakura shot up in surprise; his head hitting the ceiling and causing a few pieces of plaster to fall onto the bed. "AUGH! MARIK WHAT THE HELL?"

The blonde continued smirking and pushed the button again, silencing the upbeat music. "Knew that'd work."

"What do you want?" the other whined, rubbing his head irritably. "I was having the best dream… We graduated and never saw each other again."

The comment stung, but Marik didn't flinch. "Guess what day it is."

"Uhhh…Tues…day?"

"Enhh!" he honked, trying to imitating a buzzer. "Guess again."

"Marik, I'm really not in the moo-"

'**DON'T LET ME DOWN KITTO, KITSU KYASHINAI!'**

"Alright, alright, ALRIGHT! SHUT IT OFF!" Bakura wailed, clamping pale hands over his ears.

"Baby," Marik scoffed. "Alright Fluffy, one more chance before I wake the entire floor up. I'll even give you a clue! I am…"

"A total spaz?"

"_Bakura_…"

"Oh…OH! Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh! You're twenty! Shit, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

"Ding, ding, ding!" the other chimed, opening the blinds. "I've finally rid myself of the teenage label and become a young adult. Aren't you proud of me?"

"Yes, congratulations on not dying," Bakura yawned. "Oh…I didn't mean–"

"Don't worry about it; you don't need to act like you're walking on glass eggshells whenever you talk to me. I can handle it…my emotions are forged with high grade _steel_."

"You sure?"

"As long as you don't make anymore stupid comments about Malik, then we're good," Marik said evenly.

"Right then. What do you wanna do today birthday boy?"

"I dunno." Marik shrugged.

"Wha? Bu…THEN WHY DID YOU WAKE ME UP?"

"So I could harass you until you gave me my present." The blonde said evilly.

"Big boys don't get presents," Bakura snarled.

"You didn't get me anything?" Marik gasped, looking like he had just been slapped with a fish. "Oh woe is me, receiving a present from my only friend left in this world was the only thing I was looking forward to! What's the point of living when the guy you bunk with doesn't even remember your birthday? What else is there to do but wallow in my own self pity?" He fell neatly onto Malik's beanbag chair and began wailing pitifully. "Oh what a world, what a world!"

"What a drama king; for a twenty year old you sure do act like a child," the medical student laughed, leaping down from the top bunk. "I'm not _that_ inconsiderate, of course I got you something."

Marik sat up and followed Bakura eagerly to the closet, his mind buzzing with excitement. The shorter student stood on a suitcase and removed a colorful bag from one of his many jackets, knocking over a small black book as he did so. Cursing lightly, Bakura picked up the book and tossed it onto Marik's bed. The tall blonde looked curiously at the bright package and poked it.

"Was it expensive?"

"What a _brat_!" Bakura seethed.

"What? I'm allowed to ask, it's _my_ birthday, asshole," Marik snorted.

"It's got…emotional value."

"Which means it's cheap."

"Look, do you want your present or not?" Bakura huffed, waving around the small pouch.

"Well, if it's that _puny_…" the blonde started, rolling his eyes.

"Hasn't anyone ever told you that some of the best stuff comes in small packages?" Bakura said irritably, shoving his gift into Marik's chest. "Just open it, and try not to cry onto the carpet okay? Nothing ticks me off more than salty spots embedded into fabrics." He twitched slightly after envisioning the horrible scene.

"Shut up Bakura, I'm not gonna–"

Marik's plum colored eyes widened. Inside was a small pink bell, only about an inch across; a note reading 'For Ankha II,' was with it, printed in Malik's neat handwriting.

"We bought it just before the whole incident happened, while you were in class," Bakura said quietly. "It was Malik's idea, I didn't really get why he'd want to buy you something so random, but I guess he knows you better than I do, right? He was planning on giving it to you as soon as we got home that night but…well you know. So what's the story behind that thing? Anything you wanna tell me?"

A few seconds of pure silence followed, interrupted only by the soft ticking of the room's clock. The blonde jingled the ornament slightly, a rush of nostalgia filling him as he listened to the light hearted sound.

"My cat, Ankha, died a few weeks before he left for America," Marik said finally, attaching the bell to his necklace. "She wore a bell on her collar that was just like this one. He'd always bug me about getting a new kitten to take her place, but I never could." The blonde smiled bitterly. "I was never very good at replacing things that meant a lot to me, people included."

"Tell me about it. How long have you had those pants?" the other student scoffed. Bakura was never very comfortable in gloomy situations; they made him feel like he was trapped in a room full of heavy breathing cotton balls. Doing _anything_ to lighten the atmosphere became second nature.

Marik laughed, wiping his eyes. "Hey, if they still fit why bother getting new ones"

"_Exactly_," Bakura stressed. "To you, Malik and Ankha still _fit_. So, replacing them will just end up being a waste of time. You're obviously never going to find anyone that'll make you feel the same way you did with them; you'll always be comparing whomever you date with Malik, and you'll compare any new pets to Ankha."

"Huh, that's pretty good Bakura. Ever consider taking up Philosophy? I think you'd be great at it."

"Believe me, that's the last time you'll ever hear anything that profound come out of my mouth."

"I wouldn't be surprised," Marik chuckled.

"So birthday boy, back to the other matters at hand. What do you want to do?"

"You're _really_ willing to do anything I want?" The blonde asked skeptically.

"Anything." Bakura confirmed.

"Just for today, or…?"

"Whatever, whenever, I don't really care. I'm like a half-assed genie. I grant you one wish and then I'll never ever do it again."

Marik thought for a moment, searching his mind for the perfect request. Bakura noted that he looked remarkably like Malik while he was deep in thought. Marik's eyes seemed to be narrowed naturally, but while thinking they tended to close, so he appeared to have the same soft features as the deceased teen. It was almost like looking at an adult version of the blonde demon. After awhile, Marik perked up, having decided on something. Bakura brightened as well; however, the answer he received was far from what he was expecting.

"…I want you to make me happy."

The white haired teen blinked confusedly. "How…how do you mean?"

"Will you do it?"

"_What_ exactly…?"

"_Will you do it_?" Marik repeated firmly, fixing an intimidating glare into the other's mahogany eyes.

"I…I'll do it," Bakura agreed, nodding slightly. "Yeah, sure. Whatever you want. I said I'd do _anything_, didn't I?"

The blonde grinned darkly.

'_Perfect.'_

* * *

"Happy Birthday Marik," Malik said quietly, squeezing the silver locket around his neck. "Here's hoping that there'll plenty more following this one. Bakura had better remembered to give him that bell we bought for him. After all…" Lilac eyes blazed with fiery passion. "Hell hath no fury like an Ishtal scorned!"

"Hey kid, all hands on deck! A bunch of customers just came in and they look like they'll start eating each other if we don't get 'em some grub!"

"Keep your pants on Jounouchi, I've got it!" The small blonde drawled.

"I'm keeping _my_ pants on, just make sure you still have _yours_ at the end of the day," the other demon snickered, placing a plate of food onto Malik's tray. "That scar's healing up nicely," Jounouchi added, running a fair digit along the side of the other's left cheek. "Does it still hurt?"

"Just a little," Malik sighed, hoisting the tray onto his shoulder. "Hey, help me with the drinks, okay?"

"What's the matter? Six mugs of beer too heavy for you?"

"Shut up, I only have two hands!"

"I'm just teasing, jeez," Jounouchi said exasperatedly.

"So did Seto say when he'd be back from seeing Pegasus?" Malik inquired, tilting his head slightly.

"Nah, but I'm sure he'll be in before the evening rush. You _know_ he hates that ambiguous fruitcake."

"Hee, fruitcake…"

The two blondes strode briskly to the main dining area, the smaller getting a round of wolf whistles and suggestive winks upon entry. Rolling his eyes, Malik followed Jounouchi to a large group of six, seated at a round, wooden table. The rough looking men had rippling muscles that were as thick as Malik's entire waist and covered with winding veins; most of them had more than a few teeth missing, making chewing an incredibly horrifying thing to witness. With a grunt, the Malik lifted the heavy tray off his shoulder and set it on the table, the older demons wasting no time before eating the meal.

"It's like something off a nature show," the young blonde said idly, cringing as bits of food flew past his face.

"We'll just have to add the clean up to their bill. How's an extra seven coins sound?"

"Best make it an even ten."

"I knew I'd like you," Jounouchi grinned, shoving him teasingly.

"That's not what you thought a few months ago," Malik commented, following him back into the kitchen.

"Kid, I said I was sorry about all of that," Jounouchi sighed. "And I still owe you big time for taking so many hits from that brat angel for me."

"You know, you can start by calling me Malik from now on, seeing as it _is_ my name," the small demon pouted.

"Aww, ain't that the cutest thing? Come here _you_," the taller squealed, pulling Malik into a headlock.

Just then, the bell hanging on top of the bar door chimed, signaling another customer had just walked in. However, before the blondes could turn around, a glass-shattering cry of outrage erupted from the surrounding tables, Varon in particular being extremely vocal.

"HEY! WHAT THE HELL ARE _YOU_ DOING BACK HERE?"

"_GET OUT_!"

"YOUR KIND AIN'T WELCOME HERE!"

"'_Your kind_?'" Malik repeated, looking to the entrance. Upon laying eyes on the new patron, his pupils contracted into slits. There, standing in Ivory, was Yami. However, he no longer bore the pristine white wings of a dove; instead, his feathers were a muddled grey, the sign of an angel who had fallen from grace. Burning hatred rushed through Malik's veins, filling every inch of the young demon with an uncontrollable rage. His claws extended a good three inches. If Jounouchi hadn't been holding him back, he might've ripped the former angel's handsome face right off.

"I'LL KILL YOU!"

"Kid, calm down!" The other demon barked, holding the small blonde close. The bar's customers stood up and began to surround Yami, trying to intimidate him; however, he failed to bat an eye. Instead, he walked confidently toward Malik, easily overpowering anyone that blocked his way. The transition from angel to demon did not seem to have hindered his strength one bit.

"LET ME GO! I'LL NEVER FORGIVE HIM, _NEVER_!" Malik screeched, tears streaming down his face. "How dare you…HOW DARE YOU SHOW YOUR FACE IN HERE AFTER DOING WHAT YOU DID TO MARIK!"

"Listen, I know you wanna tear this guy limb to limb, I do too! But if anyone's gonna do him in, it _needs_ to be Seto!" Jounouchi explained in a harsh whisper. "Their grudge goes way back before you and I were even born! And no offence kid, but the guy could crush your spine without even breaking a sweat."

Yami bent down and smirked tauntingly at the distraught blonde, a pointed fang peeking over his lower lip. "Listen to the puppy dog Malik; you wouldn't want to do anything you might regret. …_Again_," he added with a scoff. He leaned in closer to the demon's ear and whispered something that caused the teen's pupils to contract.

"I hate you," Malik sobbed, still struggling to wrap his hands around the other's throat. "I HATE YOU!"

"Aww, is that supposed to make me feel bad?" Yami pouted, talking in a baby voice. "Are you trying to hurt my feelings? Because it isn't going to work. You can hate me all you want. I'll never apologize for what I did…because a piece of _worthless trash_ like you deserves it."

Malik was shocked into silence, hot tears still pouring from his eyes.

"Leave the kid alone, you've already tormented him enough," Jounouchi snarled fiercely, pulling Malik behind him. "You wanna talk shit then you talk to _me_!"

"Actually I'd rather not talk to either of you dumb blondes," the former angel sighed. "Where is Seto Kaiba? I need to talk to him."

"He's not here," Jounouchi said immediately, still hiding Malik behind him.

"Then where _is_ he?" Yami spoke slowly, as if the other demon was an idiot.

"That ain't any of your business."

"Actually, it is. You see, I'm looking to end this stupid feud once and for all… Heh, I'm sure he's never told any of you freaks why we hate each other so much, probably thinks you all are too stupid to understand."

"For you information Mr. Angel, he's told _me_," Jounouchi grinned. "The two of you used to be lovers, and when he dumped your sorry ass for cheating, you killed his father and framed him for it. The only reason you even made it into Heaven was because you died a 'noble' death, protecting his younger brother Mokuba, isn't that right?"

Yami smiled grimly. "He said _I_ cheated on _him_? That's not surprising. Last I checked it was the other way around. Not that I'd expect anything else from a filthy, murdering _liar_."

"I don't care what happened between you two, the fact is, he's with _me_ now."

"Yes, but for how long? That little brat you're protecting could very well be Seto's next love interest. Sure, it seems like an innocent friendship now, but as the years pass and the boy matures mentally, who's to say he won't ditch you and go for him instead? I thought Seto loved me too, but _now_ look where we stand: playing a constant game of cat and mouse that's transcended all physical boundaries."

Jounouchi cast an almost fearful glance at Malik, uncertainty reflected in honey colored eyes. What if Yami was right? What if somewhere along the line, Seto grew tired of him and began to love the younger blonde instead? The two already seemed _very_ close…

Suddenly, a long cut appeared on his neck, black liquid spraying from it like a broken pipe. Gagging, the blonde demon grasped his throat and fell to his knees. The injury was far from 'life' threatening, but it still caused Jounouchi an incredible amount of pain, like a large paper cut pressed into a generous amount of salt. Eyes watering, he looked up at Yami's smug face. The claw on the fallen angel's index finger was dripping with demon blood. Malik grabbed a cloth napkin from a nearby table and pressed it firmly against the cut, his eyes filled with genuine concern for the other blonde. The other demons shifted nervously, some even hastily exiting the room in fear.

"Let that be a lesson to anyone who even _attempts_ to get in my way. I want to end the feud right here, right now! If I have to spend the rest of my existence surrounded by all of you," Yami was now addressing the rest of the bar, "then at least grant me the privilege of killing the one person I hate the most!"

"Not a chance."

Yami looked behind him and saw the youngest demon standing defiantly over Jounouchi, lilac eyes shining with a violent passion. Before the former angel could respond, Malik tackled Yami to the floor, his claws piercing through the other's chest. An inky liquid covered his knuckles, smelling faintly of metal. "I can't believe a sick drip of slime like you has the _balls_ to ask us demons a request when you wouldn't even let _me_ live out mine!"

"You're _centuries_ too young to even begin _thinking_ of destroying me," Yami growled threateningly. "I can break you in a second."

"Then do it," Malik challenged. "Kill me."

In a flash, Malik found himself pinned against the wall, the fallen angel's thin fingers wrapped tightly around his throat. Marik's locket clinked against the boy's chest, popping open to reveal the small photograph. "I told you before; I have no problems disposing of trash." Yami chuckled, "Especially when that trash is a _whiny_, _selfish_, _overconfident_ little boy who doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut." His violet eyes glanced at the picture contained in the oval locket, a feral grin spreading across his lips. "Heh, It's too bad…I'm sure _Marik_ would've ended up just like you…but it looks like you're doomed to be separated forever. Sad, isn't it?"

Lilac eyes opened laboriously, glaring into furious violet orbs. Suddenly, Malik saw a comforting flash of azure, and managed to shoot Yami a defiant, fanged smile. "Yeah…it _is_ sad…for _you_."

"You little punk!" The fallen angel extended his claws so far that they resembled daggers, and brought them down with full intent to kill.

A silver blade found its way through Yami's chest, its metal glinting slightly under the dim light. Horrified, the short demon looked over his shoulder to see Seto's emotionless face. A bead of black blood dripped lazily from the corner of Yami's mouth, hitting the floor with a muted 'plop.' His hold on Malik's throat began to weaken, so much so that the young demon was able to wriggle free, immediately darting back to Jounouchi. The intense pain had caused the other blonde to fall unconscious.

"Ha…always seem to jump in _just_ at the right time, don't you?" Yami laughed, the light leaving his eyes.

"What can I say? I like my entrances to be dramatic," the brunette replied, mouth twitching. "Unfortunately for you, this will be the last time you'll see me in action."

"Then allow me to make my final _exit_ just as dramatic," the angel grunted, still smirking. "I want you to know Seto…that even after all this…after all I've done to you…and after all you've done to me…I still…" He collapsed onto the ground, his breathing now heavy and painful. He clenched his hand into a fist and placed it over the fatal wound. "I still…love…" He let out a shuddering sigh and closed his eyes for the last time.

"Feeling's not mutual," Seto shrugged, wiping his blade indifferently. He tossed the sword onto a table, scaring the crap out of most of the room. "Do I _really_ need to tell you all to leave?"

In a matter of seconds, the bar was completely empty save for Seto, Jounouchi, and Malik. Yami's corpse had dissolved shortly after its spirit had been destroyed.

"Are you two okay?" Seto asked, kneeling down beside the two blondes.

"Jounouchi took a way heavier hit than I did," Malik said quietly, removing the blood soaked napkin. "You should look after him first, I'll be fine."

"That's the second time I've almost lost you," the brunette muttered, placing a finger on Malik's nose. "I really should keep better watch…you always seem to attract the most _unpleasant_ of enemies."

"Chalk that one to bad luck," he scoffed, looking away. "But really, I think you should take Jounouchi up–"

Seto quickly captured the boy's lips, giving the blonde demon a gentle, yet heartfelt kiss. Startled, Malik abruptly pulled away and wiped his mouth, staring at the brunette with wide eyes. What had brought that odd gesture? Seto knew Malik's heart belonged to Marik, and Marik's heart belonged to him. Did he think that a meaningless kiss would make Malik forget that? Suddenly a jolt of fear shot through the young demon's body. He had placed all his trust in Seto without even thinking about the elder demon's true intentions. What if his _seemingly_ protective keeper had ulterior motives? Was there something to Seto that Malik had neglected to consider?

"_Relax_ Malik, I know you're not mine to love," Seto grinned, lifting Jounouchi over his shoulder. "I was just testing to see if you'd kiss back. You didn't…so you passed. Congratulations. If you had…then I'm afraid that your relationship with Marik would have become very similar to the one between me and Yami. Love only works if both parties remain faithful. Remember that."

"So was it you or Yami that was unfaithful?" Malik blurted out, unable to contain himself.

"…He was seeing a woman by the name of Anzu. I was seeing a woman by the name of Kisara. This occurred while we were both _supposedly_ seeing each other, so in a way, we were both at fault. However _he_ was the one who acted upon his own jealousy. He murdered my father and framed me for the act. I was sentenced to death. He died protecting my younger brother not two days later, expecting me to be in heaven waiting for him. Needless to say, he was furious to discover I had ended up here."

"Even if Marik finds someone else, I'll always remain loyal to him," the small blonde said determinedly, closing his locket with a quiet click. "I…I don't want to prevent him from pairing up with someone else who can make him happier than I ever did..."

"When two people are truly in love, one does not need to worry about being a burden to the other." Seto stated coolly, walking up the stairs.

Malik blushed and looked toward the spot where Yami had fallen.

'Marik…I _really_ want to see you again.'

A single tear traced the white scar on Malik's cheek.

* * *

**ONLY ONE MORE CHAPTER LEFT! What was Marik's request? Will Bakura honor it? Will Malik and Marik ever be reunited? Can **_**I**_** suck up my dislike for Ryou and include him in the final chapter? …Probably. **

**If you've been reading the story without reviewing, now's a **_**pretty**_** good time to jump in. If you **_**have**_** been reviewing, just this story would never have gotten this far with your support! THANK YOU **_**SO**_** MUCH!**


	13. Turning

**A Little Fall of Rain**

**Summary:** When the angel Ryou becomes smitten with a mortal who he believes can do no harm, he creates a misunderstanding, resulting in the wrath of the young demon Malik whose unrequited love was never satisfied in life.

**Rated:** T

**Genre:** Supernatural/Romance

**Author's Note:** I had planned this chapter a little differently, but decided to edit it last minute. I was struggling between two choices: A final Bakura and Ryou moment, or giving Ryou a significant part in the **sequel** (that's right, I said it). Hopefully you won't be too upset with my decision. Oh, and **don't forget to give me one last review!**

**Disclaimer: **(blink) After _thirteen_ chapters you still think…? (kick) GET AWAY FROM MY FIC!

**Turning **

Bakura was greeted with a strong stench of blood upon entering his dormitory, the sheer intensity causing him to gag a little. Throwing his case aside, the young medical student rushed into the bathroom, already knowing what he would find.

"Marik…you bastard!"

He flung the door open and fell to his knees, crawling over to Marik's bloody form. The blonde had three very deep gashes on each of his wrists, all of which were still bleeding profusely. Marik himself seemed to be very conscious, but also very frustrated, as if he had encountered an unsolvable math problem.

"How many times are you going to lie to me," Bakura panted, tearing off large pieces of gauze with his teeth. "You promised me that you'd stop doing this! This is our third year here, grow up!"

"_You_ promised _me_ eight months ago that if you'd ever found me dying you wouldn't try to save me," Marik growled in his low voice, which seemed more dangerous than ever. "Why can't you understand that I'm not happy being here?"

"You're kidding yourself," the pale man scoffed, wiping Marik's blood off his face. "You think _Malik_ would be happy to find out that you screwed up your entire life? He told you to _move on_ Marik!"

"I _CAN'T_!" Marik roared, snatching his arm away from Bakura. "YOU DON'T GET IT!"

"I get it more than you think," Bakura spat. "You think _you're_ the only who wanted to escape all this shit and misery in hopes that you'd find something better on the other side? I used to cut all the time before I came to college because I thought that wherever I'd end up would be better than life without him beside me. I was _wrong_ Marik. There were still so many people who needed me to stay here; by killing myself I was shrugging off all my pain and giving it to them. My parents, my friends… Why do you think I decided to take medicine Marik? Why do you think an alcoholic, lazy, germ obsessed freak like me would even _attempt_ to take this hellish course? TO HELP PEOPLE! TO STOP PEOPLE FROM DOING WHAT I WAS DOING TO MYSELF! You still have people in this world who care about you Marik, despite what you think! Malik knows this…and you know it too!"

"Nothing I do works," Marik said helplessly, running a bloodstained hand through his long spikes. "Pills, slitting my wrists, sticking a knife into the light socket… Why won't I die?"

"Are you even listening to me?" The medical student said incredulously.

"Something's not right, I should be dead now…"

"SNAP OUT OF IT!"

"The angels must be responsible for this," Marik hissed, his eyes darkening. "And I bet Ryou's the ringleader! That little waste of breath would do anything to keep me and Malik apart!"

"Listen to me," Bakura said angrily, cupping Marik's face in his hands. "You can't continue living like this; your mother, what will _she_ think?"

"She's got a boyfriend, she'll live," the blonde replied, laughing a little. "She doesn't need me."

"Marik this is getting really annoying…"

"Then kill me! I'm obviously too useless to do it myself!"

Bakura bit his lip and knocked the razor away from Marik's side, tears streaming down his face. "There's obviously _someone_ out there who doesn't think you should go yet, and if you won't listen to me, then at least listen to them. Marik, I'm not going to kill you, and I'm sure as hell not going to get you kill yourself." He looked down and sobbed before bringing his head up, face contorted with pain. "I'VE ALREADY LOST MY BIG BROTHER TO SUICIDE; I'M _NOT_ GOING TO LOSE YOU TOO!"

* * *

"I need to speak with Malik."

All eyes focused on the angel's young face, narrowing suspiciously. Ryou blushed but didn't turn away, instead tightening his grip on a large item tucked under his arm. The bar patrons looked at each other, muttering harshly under their breaths. Ryou gulped. Malik, Seto, and Jounouchi were the only demons he had any real contact with, and judging from what the other angels had to say, those three were relatively tame compared to the rest of the population.

"I…I don't mean any harm," he tried to say pleasantly. "I just need to talk to him briefly…to ah…to clear some things up?"

When he still didn't get a response, Ryou opened his pearly wings to their full extent, hoping that they would be intimidated. "O-Okay demons, listen up! If…uh…if you don't tell me where Malik Ishtal is I'll be forced to…to uh…hurt you very badly!"

"You've gotta wonder why angels try to fluff themselves up so much," Varon sighed indifferently. "I mean, we're the ones with the claws and teeth."

"Eh…that's right, isn't it?" the angel laughed hesitantly, his wings drooping.

"What the hell are you doing here?" A familiar voice said from behind. The angel whirled around and met the amber eyes of Jounouchi, who was holding what looked like a small black powder puff. His expression was unreadable; he certainly wasn't happy to see Ryou, but he didn't look too upset about it either.

"Nice to see you again," Ryou smiled, bowing. "Jounouchi, wasn't it?"

The blonde stared at him intensely before lowering his gaze. "If you're looking for the kid he's upstairs. But he isn't in any state to talk, mind you." The small creature in his arms made an odd noise. "He's been a little…off lately…"

"Off?" Ryou repeated, tilting his head to the side.

"You'll see." Jounouchi shrugged. "What's that you got there?" He pointed a clawed finger at the concealed item Ryou was carrying.

"Nothing special," the angel chuckled, shaking his head. "Just something I wanted to drop off. Don't worry, it's nothing dangerous. I'm sure you'd try to kill me again if it was though…"

"I can't say you didn't deserve it…but I'm sorry for trying to rip your heart out last time," the demon pouted, like a child apologizing for pushing someone on the playground. "That doesn't mean that I like any of you white winged feather heads. Though honestly, you're the most tolerable."

"Thanks…that means a lot coming from you. By the way, where's Seto?"

"I bet he's scrounging up some newspaper so we can start housetraining this little guy," the blonde grinned, holding up the dark puppy. "I've been wanting a new hellhound ever since my old one was killed while were stealing the mirror."

Ryou smiled at the other's excitement and bowed once more before ascending up the wooden staircase. Again, he clutched his parcel firmly, as if he was afraid it would disappear in an instant. What really frightened him was what he may find when he opened the door to Malik's room; would he be attacked? Surely the young demon wouldn't easily forget that it was him that shattered his pearl. He stopped in front of an ornate wooden door with what looked like a griffin carved onto the surface. Raising his pale hand tentatively, Ryou steeled his nerve and rapped the door three times.

"It's Ryou," the angel said clearly, bracing himself for a punch in the face. "I…err…I have something I wanted to give you Malik!"

There was a light shuffling from the other side of the door, and slowly, it began to open, revealing a single lilac eye peering out tiredly. Ryou was relieved that Malik wasn't in a particularly violent mood.

"Good day…or, is it night? It's kind of hard to tell around here, it's always twilight. May I come in? I promise I won't be long…"

Malik disappeared momentarily, but the door swung open, allowing Ryou into the large room. He looked around interestedly, surprised that the room had fairly normal décor, save for a large sword collection hanging over the dresser. The blonde demon was sitting on a large bed, long bangs covering his left eye. Ryou bowed and set his parcel on the small boy's lap, taking off the cloth to reveal a brand new All-Seeing Mirror. Its gold frame was decorated with more demonic images, but otherwise it appeared exactly like the mirror Jounouchi had broken. Malik's visible eye widened before looking to the angel in confusion.

"The All-Seeing Mirror, a device used by angels to keep watch over the human world. This is how you found Marik again, isn't it? I first saw Bakura through one too…when he was a child. He was…well, maybe I'll tell you some other time. …I asked our smith to make two," Ryou smiled. "I didn't tell him what I was doing with the other one. Consider this a formal apology…I…I had my reasons for doing what I did, and I know you did too. But I still feel really horrible for breaking you two apart. So…friends? Or…are we at least on good terms?"

He extended a white hand towards the demon, who looked at it fearfully.

"Ah, right! The burning thing…um…" Ryou wrapped a part of Seto's blanket around his palm and repeated the gesture.

Malik stared at the fabric-covered limb for a long time before finally extending his own hand and giving Ryou a firm handshake. The angel laughed lightly, amazed at how soft Malik's skin was. He always had the impression that demon skin was rough and flaky…

"You haven't said anything since I've gotten here," Ryou said suddenly. "Is something wrong?"

The blonde withdrew his hand and looked at Ryou head on, his left eye clearly visible under his pale hair. While the other orb remained a warm lilac, the scarred eye had turned a deep shade of red. Coupled with his scar, Malik's scarlet eye gave him a considerably more evil look. The angel drew back in shock before leaning in again, inspecting the oddly colored iris closely.

"You gave away a part of your soul, didn't you? And…your voice went along with it…"

Malik nodded silently.

"Wha…why? What in the world would possess you to…?"

The demon tapped the surface of the new mirror and drew his clawed finger around for a bit, searching for something. Finally, he stopped and turned the mirror over to Ryou. The white haired cherub took the glass and looked into it desperately.

"That's Bakura!"

"_What the hell do you think you were doing? You promised me you'd never do it again! What the hell is wrong with you?"_ The spectral Bakura shrieked at an unseen person, tears pouring from his eyes. _"You're…you're such an idiot!"_

Marik emerged from the shadows of the darkened room, dried blood still visible on his wrists.

"_It didn't work anyway,"_ he said monotonously, plum eyes glazed. _"I've been trying for months, and nothing I do seems to succeed."_

Bakura cried out before slapping his indifferent roommate. _"YOU NEED TO STOP! I CAN'T STAND SEEING YOU LIKE THIS! I WORRY ABOUT YOU EVERY SINGLE FUCKING MINUTE OF EVERY SINGLE FUCKING DAY! STOP TRYING TO KILL YOURSELF MARIK, PLEASE!"_

The angel turned the mirror over, unable to watch any more.

'Who could have informed Malik about what was happening in the human world? Unless…' Ryou's heart skipped a beat. 'Yami must have said something to Malik before he was destroyed!'

"You gave apart of yourself to the shadows so Marik couldn't commit suicide," Ryou said breathlessly. "So no matter what, he won't be able to die by his own hand… But, but what if he tries to get Bakura to do it for him?"

Malik smiled innocently.

"You'll just give away more of yourself…won't you?" The angel whispered.

* * *

"How dare you trick my charge into such a one sided deal," Seto growled, azure eyes blazing.

The other figure chuckled darkly, teal hair falling over his oddly colored eyes. "Seto, you _know_ that I never approach my customers…_they_ come to _me_. I'm just doing whatever the young one tells me too."

"I doubt Malik knew what he was getting himself into," the brunette retorted. "What exactly were the grounds for this exchange?"

"All I received was his voice, nothing more, nothing less."

"Then why is he branded with the red iris?" Seto pressed, circling the man with a threatening air. "I know you…you only leave that mark on demons that will eventually have their entire soul taken away. Malik wouldn't have made this agreement if you'd been telling him the truth."

"But I _did_ tell him the truth," the demon grinned. "Every time that human tries to take his own life, I get another portion of Malik's soul; it's as simple as that. Eh…however…" He put a pale finger to his thin lips. "There was one minor detail that I may have forgotten to tell him…" Upon looking at the brunette's face, his expression became more gleeful. "That human's living on borrowed time; he should've been dead after his first suicide attempt. Malik's soul is the only thing keeping him alive, when that goes, so does he. So in the end…" He laughed. "When that fool finally makes it down here, Malik will already be long gone."

Seto blanched and extended his claws. "I knew it. I want that deal nullified Dartz, you hear me? It was staked on a misunderstanding!"

"If I do that then the human will die," the older man replied, frowning. "And according to the agreement your adorable little child signed…if that human dies because of a contract breach, he will go to neither Heaven nor Hell. Those two lovebirds would be separated forever, and it will be all _your_ fault. Would you be able to live with yourself, knowing that you denied that poor boy happiness? Strike that; would you be able to live with yourself knowing that he _hated_ you with every bone in his body?"

Bead of sweat formed along Seto's hairline, his mind struggling to figure out a way to save Malik and Marik from their foolish decisions. He was trapped on all sides, helpless to do anything but watch as the tragedy wrote itself out; he wasn't used to being so powerless.

"Why…why would Malik agree to such a thing?" Seto breathed, unable to comprehend anything anymore.

Dartz smiled again; blue and gold eyes both shining brilliantly under the flickering torchlights. "_Love_," he drawled, his tongue seeming to enjoy the flavor of each word he spoke, "has an evil power that can drive even the sanest man to resort to desperate measures."

* * *

Malik sat on the roof of Marik's house and watched the setting sun disappear behind tall mountains, bathing the once blue sky in various shades of gold and pink. He knew that it was bad to look directly at the star, however he couldn't help but marvel as the fiery sphere sank out of view, making his surroundings look like something out of an old watercolor painting. Malik sighed and turned to the snoozing eight-year-old on his right, whose blonde spikes fluttered ever so slightly with each passing breath. Biting his lip contemplatively, the younger boy extended a small finger and softly prodded Marik's shoulder, waking the other boy in mid snore.

With a loud snort, the older child woke up, opening hazy plum colored eyes wearily. Malik snickered silently, turning back to the sunset in order to hide his laughter.

"What happened? Why'd you wake me up?" Marik moaned irritably, rubbing his head.

"I just thought you might want to say goodbye to the sun before it left for the day," the seven-year-old said airily. "Plus the sunsets around here are really special. I've never seen so many colors all at once!"

"Yeah, I guess it's kinda cool," Marik shrugged, sitting up. He had seen the sunset countless times from his bedroom, but _something_ about this one felt particularly special. "Why? Haven't you ever seen one before?"

"My room faces the other way," Malik said simply, drawing his knees closer to his chest. "The only things I can see outside my window are the incoming shadows."

"Heh, then I'm glad you were able to see your first sunset with me."

"Why's that?" The small blonde asked curiously, looking at the older boy.

"Well…because we're best friends, right?"

"Yeah, so?"

"_Everything_ is better when you're doing it with your best friend," Marik reasoned, wondering why his cheeks felt so hot as he said this. "That's just the way the world works, isn't it?"

"Hee, I guess you're right," Malik giggled.

The sun had completely disappeared from view, the sky now filled with swirling clouds of lavender and dark purple. As the last of the light faded away, Marik pointed to a smaller puff and grinned. "That cloud's the same color as your eyes!"

"And _that_ cloud's the same color as yours," Malik laughed, pointing at the larger cloud next to it.

Their eyes met briefly before turning back to the sky, watching the two clouds drifting slowly beside each other. Suddenly, a violent gust of wind separated the two, pushing the smaller one further ahead while the larger floated sluggishly behind it. The breeze blew harder, and soon enough the two clouds were even farther apart. A final sigh of wind caused the lighter colored cloud to disintegrate completely, leaving the darker one alone and lost.

Malik felt a strange sadness welling up inside of him, and he instinctively scooted toward Marik, hoping his friend would be able to alleviate the horrible feeling. Marik was now observing the city, watching how white lights seemed to appear simultaneously in short bursts. Eventually, all of the buildings lying before him glowed with an artificial light, drowning out the spotted stars that were only just beginning to appear. Marik remembered longingly when he and his father would drive out to the province to stargaze, the celestial bodies shining even brighter without any false illumination to compete with their natural brilliance.

"Marik?"

The older boy was jarred out of his thoughts by Malik's soft voice. "Huh?"

"You and I…we're best friends, right?"

Marik nodded slowly, noticing the younger boy's eyes seemed to shine as he spoke. "Yeah…we are."

"And…no matter what, we'll _always_ be best friends, right?"

"Of course Malik… Why're you suddenly so–?"

"D-do you promise?" Malik said almost desperately, clinging to the denim of Marik's jeans.

The older blonde blinked confusedly before a kind smile graced his unblemished face. Throwing a tanned arm over the smaller boy affectionately, Marik responded in a reassuring whisper.

"Promise."

* * *

**To Be Continued in Wilted Rose... **


End file.
